Rape, a double murder, and the effects that the actions of our ancestors have upon the lives of their descendants are the simple themes of this easy-to-read, classic tale of mystery and romance. In South Carolina, during the Civil War, we meet a poor young white girl who married a plantation owner. Her personal diary is found hidden in a secret compartment of an heirloom desk a full century later. The truth about her life had lay hidden in these pages for decades. This discovery deeply impacts the lives of her living descendants in the late twentieth century. Now the family must cope with these terrible secrets.