Reclusive author Vida Winter, well-known for twelve captivating tales, has created an array of alternate lives for herself during the past sixty years. Now in her later years and ailing, she's ready to share the truth about her extraordinary life and the long-hidden violent and tragic past. To uncover the story, she calls upon Margaret Lea, a budding biographer whose own past is full of anguish. As Vida recounts the mysterious events--the gorgeous and defiant Isabelle, the wild twins Adeline and Emmeline, the ghost, the governess, the topiary garden and a devastating fire--Margaret is riveted. In piecing together the narrative, both women face their ghosts and ultimately transform.
