Margaret Harlowe, called to the woods and cliffs surrounding her family's estate, grew both stranger and more beautiful as she cultivated an uncanny power. But soon, whispers of "witch" dogged her footsteps. One hundred and fifty years later, Augusta Podos takes a dream job at Harlowe House, the historic home of a wealthy New England family that has been turned into a small museum in Tynemouth, Massachusetts. When Augusta stumbles across an oblique reference to a daughter of the Harlowes who has nearly been expunged from the historical record, the mystery is too intriguing to ignore.