Raleigh Bishop's perfect life in rural St. Mary's County, Maryland, has just come to a shattering end. Her naval test pilot husband, Grant, has been killed in a flight accident, and Raleigh is left to pick up the brittle shards of that life. She prefers to stay hidden away in her grief but is unwillingly dragged out of it by the contents of her husband's will, which contain a shocking bequest.

Grant has left her St. Clements Bluff, an old Bishop family home with a noble background as a stop on the Underground Railroad. But serving as a safe house for escaping slaves in the 19th century is just the beginning of what Raleigh learns is a dark and winding history.

It is a history that someone is willing to keep secret at any cost.