On a raw, wet, winter's day, as Eloise watches her daughter Deborah's coffin being lowered into the cold ground of the little country churchyard, her over-riding emotions are those of hatred and revenge. To Eloise, Steven appears a cold-blooded murderer, in that by forcing Deborah to agree to an abortion, he has caused her death as surely as if he had killed her with his own hands. Driven by grief and the desire for revenge, Eloise determines she will contrive somehow that Steven shall meet a murderer's rightful end at the hands of the Law.

Illusion tells the story of Eloise's ingenious scheming; of how she uses her simple- minded twin sister as, together, they leave their life of self- imposed, strangely old-fashioned seclusion, for the romantic setting of a luxury liner; and of how, on the voyage taking them halfway round the world, strange and entirely unforeseen complications arise, over which Eloise realises she has no control...

This spine-chilling mystery is one of the most exciting novels by Frances Keinzley (1922 – 2006), winner of the Literary Award in New Zealand in 1960. Keinzley is more than a talented and intelligent storyteller; she is a subtle psychologist who is able to create believable characters. Ingenious and inventive, with a surprise solution, the book is most cleverly and sensitively worked out. It is both powerful and memorable!