Merrick Darling's life as the daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the fog that encroached on England generations earlier.

Merrick Darling's life as the daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the fog that encroached on England generations earlier.

She will never become a phantom--one of the monstrous creatures that stalk her province's borders; and as long as the fires burn to hold them back, her safety is assured. She wants for nothing, and yet she will never inherit her family's manor. She must marry smartly or live at her sister, Essie's, kindness.

Everything is turned on its head, though, when Merrick's father dies, suddenly. Merrick must return home and what she discovers at Norland Manor is bewildering. Once strong and capable, Essie is withdrawn and frightened-and for good cause. A recent string of attacks along her province's borders have turned their once bucolic countryside into a terrifying and unpredictable landscape.

The fog is encroaching and the fires aren't holding, which makes Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more ways than one. Failure to protect one's province could lead to them losing everything.