The story features diverse subjects, such as brittle bone disease, rape, posttraumatic stress disorder and diabetes, in the haunting setting of a Victorian-era mansion near the fictitious River Lyle.

Audrina lives at Whitefern, a Victorian-era mansion, with her father Damian, her mother Lucietta, her aunt Ellsbeth and her cousin Vera.

Audrina lives in virtual isolation, her only real contact with the outside world being her older cousin, Vera, who despises her.

Vera, a habitual liar and borderline nymphomaniac, proves early on that she will stop at nothing to steal and destroy everything that Audrina loves.

Vera has very brittle bones that break easily, and she enjoys playing the convalescent to get Damien's attention or sympathy.

When she is aged 7, Audrina meets Arden Lowe and his mother Billie, a former ice skater who is now a double amputee.

Although she fears the woods, Audrina is willing to brave them to see Billie and Arden, and gradually, Damian consents to these visits.

They are horrified when she predicts the child is neither male nor female, although Vera calmly states that it is fitting that a new "freak" would join the family.

Lucietta was a great pianist, so to keep her memory alive Audrina takes piano lessons with Vera at the home of Lamar Rensdale.

In the confusion following this death, Audrina elopes with Arden, hoping to escape her controlling father, and takes Sylvia with her.

When the newlyweds return from their honeymoon, they find that Damian has won over Arden's mother and invited her to live with them at Whitefern.

Audrina is upset at how Damian manipulates events to keep control over her life, and disappointed that Billie has been tricked into believing he is wonderful and kind.

Audrina is disgusted and attempts to persuade Billie to leave, saying her father only knows how to ruin the lives of the women he loves.

When she awakens at night to check on Sylvia, she goes into the first Audrina's room, and for the first time in many years, sits in the rocking chair.

She has some clear visions of the day the first Audrina died, which include Arden being present in the woods and running away.

Confused and upset, she returns to her bedroom to confront Arden, but is pushed down the stairs by an unseen assailant.

In an effort to save Audrina from herself, Damian subjected her to electro-convulsive therapy, trying to erase her memory of the rape.

Seeing his daughter endure the treatment was too much for Damian, so he had the family try to convince Audrina that she was two years younger than she really was and that the rape had been committed not against her, but against an older sister who died before she was born.

Since the family deliberately changed the clocks in the house and ripped off calendar days at random, her sense of time was altered.

Vera's reaction suggests she is guilty, but when Damian curses her, she accuses him of never acknowledging her as his daughter and favoring Audrina over her.

Heartbroken and betrayed, Audrina decides to take Sylvia and leave Whitefern; she is convinced that nothing can flourish in the house but tragedy.

Damian Jonathan Adare: Father of Vera, Audrina and Sylvia; husband of Lucietta; brother-in-law of Ellsbeth.

Lucietta Lana Whitefern Adare: Mother of Audrina and Sylvia; wife of Damian; younger sister of Ellsbeth.

Sylvia Adare: Youngest daughter of Damian and Lucietta; sister of Audrina; half-sister and cousin of Vera.

Vera Adare: Daughter of Ellsbeth and Damian; cousin and half-sister of Audrina and Sylvia; lover of Lamar.

She was an Olympic figure skating champion who lost both of her legs after getting gangrene as a complication from untreated diabetes.