Journalist Rona Parish is eager for a fresh challenge. A chance encounter with an old friend, Kate, now married into the Tarlton family, gives her an idea. Rona will research the histories of several long-established family firms in the town, notably the Tarltons and the Clarendon Hotel. Then Kate enlists Rona's help in getting to the bottom of sister-in-law Freya's terrifying nightmares, and Rona finds herself drawn into the complex web of relationships linking the families.