In the quiet wilds of Devon, Lady Amalie Northbrooke has carved out a life on her own terms-breeding her cherished basset hounds and protecting Mere Manor, the estate left to her by tragedy. Though unseasoned in society, she is no stranger to independence...until danger finds her.
When her long-absent brother, Lord Westlake, returns after eleven years, his homecoming should mend what time has stolen. Instead, his arrival unsettles her. Familiar places feel altered. Trusted routines begin to unravel. And loyalties she once took for granted begin to fracture.
A violent encounter draws Amalie into the orbit of Dr. Richard Cartwell, Lord Haven-steady, perceptive, and impossible to ignore. In his company, she catches her first glimpse of a world beyond the one she has always known-and of a connection as unexpected as it is undeniable.
Then Mere Manor's fragile peace is shattered by an unexplained death, and Amalie can no longer dismiss the quiet dread creeping through her home.
With only Dr. Cartwell as an unlikely ally, she is drawn into a web of secrets where every answer leads to greater danger, every shadow hides another threat, and someone is watching her far too closely.
Because the truth is not merely hidden.
It waits with claws and teeth.