Effie Farraday no longer lives at Rawlings. When she was a young woman she disappeared, never to return. But she didn't move overseas, or to another town, she isn't laid to rest in the cemetery, and you won't find her festering away at the local mental institution, no, she has simply vanished from the world....
This story begins some years before, when Effie still resides at Rawlings, a rambling old house where she lives with her Aunt Constance, a sweet old lady who is steadfast in her beliefs and has single-handedly raised Effie since she was a baby. Isaiah, an old friend of the family, who is adored by many, especially her Aunt, regularly visits them but there is something not quite right about him, and Effie doesn't trust him.
The whereabouts of Effie's mother is shrouded in a dark veil of mystery, for she abruptly left one night when Effie was a baby, never to return. Her Aunt Constance is strangely reluctant to discuss the matter, and there are no photos. But Effie has a portrait of her mother, one that she painted after seeing her for one fleeting moment, long ago.
Since childhood Effie had always experienced extraordinary dreams, but little does she know her dreams are about to collide with her reality, sending her on a mysterious adventure that will change her life forever. She has nightmares too, horrific nightmares that always involve an old ventriloquist's dummy who is as creepy as they come. He haunts Effie's dreams and fills her with terror. But why, what does he want, why won't he leave her alone?
When Effie has a mysterious visit from Gideon, the person in her dreams, he warns her that there's someone after her. Soon after a ghostly apparition of a woman with callous eyes materialises in Effie's kitchen, determined to kill her, and she only just escapes with her life. Frightened, confused, and eager to learn the truth, Effie flees her home with her impetuous friend Mace and they journey to Browning's Wood, a place that will hopefully lead her to safety. But Mace betrays her and Effie finds herself marooned in a sinister forest, where she finally meets Gideon, in person, for the very first time. Together they journey to his home, an enchanting village, which rapidly fills Effie with a blissful contentment. However it soon becomes apparent that not all is as it seems, and when Effie once again meets the woman who tried to murder her, she discovers something shocking. With her happiness shattered Effie must return home, reluctantly leaving behind the man she loves.
As Effie arrives back home she discovers that everything has dramatically changed, including her best friend Mace, but that pales into insignificance when a series of chilling revelations are made known to her, plunging her entire world into confusion and turmoil. After her Aunt Constance has a ghostly encounter in the library, Effie realises what she must do, but just as her and Mace try and prevent an impending disaster, they are thwarted by their deadliest enemy.
As Effie's life suddenly goes veering off into a most unexpected direction, the novel reaches its dramatic cliffhanger, leaving the reader in utter suspense.
