1806: Astrid Grandville is now Astrid Poole, beautiful in her bridal clothes and overwhelmed with love for her brand-new husband. But before the marriage can be consummated, she is murdered and the circle of gold is torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him. Present day: Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about-- and her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast. The will stipulates that she must live in it for at least three years. Having just dumped her cheating fiance and left her job to start her own graphic design firm, she finds it a perfect opportunity to start fresh. She also wants to find out why the boys were separated at birth-- and why it was all kept secret until a DNA match on a genealogy website brought it to light. Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya's unease-- and casually acknowledges that, yes, the place is haunted-- but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya soon finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees one of her father's paintings hanging, inexplicably, in her deceased uncle's office, as well as a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as the first "lost bride." There have been more than one over the years-- including Uncle Collin's wife, who died on her wedding day and left him isolated and grieving. It's becoming clear that Poole's Bay is not as idyllic as it seems. It's also becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved, if there is any hope of breaking it.