The house next door to Pat Robbins-eerily identical to the home she shares with her teenaged son, Mark-has been empty for years. And it's not surprising, as there's a feeling of darkness radiating from the house that seems to scare everyone away.

But now new tenants are moving in: friendly Josef and his lovely daughter, Kathy, who has stolen Mark's heart on first glance. But something is not right-something old and secret is lurking in the shadows, something that fresh paint and new furnishings cannot mask or exorcise. There is evil alive in the heart of the house next door-and it means to feed on the fears of two families . . .

Ghosts, a mysterious diary and a harrowing of a family split by the American Civil War sit at the heart of this haunting gothic romance by New York Times bestseller Barbara Michaels.