Nicci French's protagonists are women going through the kind of life problems readily understood: separation, parenting anxieties, a yearning to find the right partner. Their strengths rise to the surface, despite their fears, by the novel's close in a very realistic and satisfying arc.

This novel is Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya meets Wuthering Heights; Gothic suspense darkens childhood friendships on the east coast. The female protagonist learns the value of friendship when she faces her darkest fears and faces the shadows in her past.