Synopsis

Hillery Louise Ashford, heiress of a plantation long tormented by the curse of a voodoo priestess,

returns to the states after an extensive education in France during the political unrest of the opening days of America’s Civil War.

In route to her Louisiana home Hillery meets, and falls in love with Stuart Michaels, a renowned Washington artist.

As the couple become inseparable the realization that they are on opposing sides of a war that threatens to destroy a nation

is daunting enough without the complications and additional obstacles that they will encounter. Hillery, however,

is obligated to travel to her family home where she must go deeply into her ancestral lineage in order to put an end to the misery

that the curse has cast upon its occupants. While she is spiritually guided by the gift of sight, to her astonishment she discovers

that Stuart, too, shares an equally unusual sense of perception. The pair team up to solve the puzzle and free the people that are her

only remaining family. Marietta, the ghost of Hillery’s mother is there to pave the way, but Hillery must take a fresh look at her

political views if she intends to have a happy union with the man of her dreams. While she is dealing with these disturbing consequences

Stuart is forced to go off to battle leaving Hillery to go to his aid as often as he comes to hers. The horrors of Libby Prison and the

perils of the Underground Railroad factor into their new reality, and the couple despair of ever finding the nuptial bliss they each desire.

The young lovers must face loss and tragedy, both together and on their own, in order to gain the future they seek.