[2] Largely set during World War II, the story is told by Faith Severn, who at the prompting of a true-crime writer recounts her memories of her aunt, the prim, fastidious, and snobbish Vera Hillyard.

Vera's life is initially centred on her beautiful younger sister, Eden, even to the exclusion of her own son, Francis, with whom she has a poor relationship.

When Eden is unable to have children with her husband, she begins to demand custody of Jamie, who she claims is being poorly raised by Vera.

To the bewilderment and shock of the rest of the family, the custody battle escalates to violent levels, leading to tragedy and a series of disturbing revelations.

She refused to reveal details of her personal life, but admitted that one of the incidents in the book was based on a story she had heard in childhood.