After seventeen years away, public defender Raine Hale returns to her family's crumbling Virginia estate when her estranged cousin Maria is hospitalized following a near-fatal cyanide poisoning. As sole beneficiary of Hale House and guardian to Maria's five-year old daughter, Molly, Raine confronts a troubling legacy she vowed never to revisit-and is thrust into a deadly mystery. But she can't trust anyone. Maria's husband has a violent past and crushing debts. Raine's manipulative ex refuses to sign divorce papers and won't stay away. Her former high school lover, now the lead detective on Maria's case, views everyone as a suspect, including Raine. And a brutal client who nearly killed her just got out of jail. When people begin dying, Hale House becomes as dangerous as the secrets it holds. With a killer circling closer and Molly's life in her hands, Raine must unravel generations of family deceptions before she becomes the next victim buried in the family plot.