In 1910, on a small, remote island, life does not hold a lot of promise for the spirited Charlotte North. Her only chance to escape this insular community seems to be through marriage --- an institution she is not at all eager to join. Plus, eligible suitors are few and far between, which is why Charlotte has fallen hard for Jasper Hill, the handsome --- and likewise unhappily married --- new priest. Then an ancient tower crumbles, and releases...something. A restless spirit that knocks inside the walls and sends household objects flying. A spirit that seems to have an affinity for Charlotte herself. Though many on the island are terrified of this new interloper, Charlotte sees in it a way to get everything she has most wanted out of life...if she can overcome Jasper’s piety and the tenacity of schoolteacher Ruth Russel, who is determined understand and banish this entity entirely. 

Something dark and twisted has taken root at the Bender Inn. At first the townspeople of Cherryvale welcome the rising medium Kate Bender and her family. Kate's messages from the Beyond give their tedious dreams hope, and her mother's potions cure their little ills --- for a price. No one knows about their other business, the shortcut to a better life. And why shouldn’t their family prosper? They’re careful. It’s only from those who are marked, those who travel alone and can easily disappear, that the Benders demand their pound of flesh. But even a gifted seer like Kate can make a misstep. Now, as the secrets festering beneath the soil of the family orchard threaten to bring them all to ruin, the Benders must sharpen their craft --- or vanish themselves.

Centuries ago, beautiful young Ilsbeth Clark was accused of witchcraft after several children disappeared. Her acquittal did nothing to stop her fellow townsfolk from drowning her in the well where the missing children were last seen. When author and social media influencer Elena returns to the summer paradise of her youth to get her family's manor house ready to sell, the last thing she expected was connecting with --- and feeling inspired to write about --- Ilsbeth’s infamous spirit. The very historical figure that her ex-childhood friend, Cathy, has been diligently researching and writing about for years. What begins as a fiercely competitive sense of ownership over Ilsbeth and her story soon turns both women’s worlds into something more haunted and dangerous than they ever could imagine.