In 1915 Boston, Sybil Allston sits in a darkened room with several strangers awaiting a potential spiritual presence. Sybil has been visiting Mrs. Dee’s séance’s for years, after her mother and younger sister drowned while aboard the Titanic. With a scrying glass, Sybil believes she has her own ability to see, and starts her practice, albeit under the influence. Meanwhile her brother, Harlan, is expelled from Harvard, subsequently attacked and put into the hospital. He refuses to discuss the situation and Sybil, thinking these two events are tied, gets involved and tries to solve Harlan’s problems. Also to get involved: Benton Derby, a Harvard professor and past love interest who left Sybil to spinsterhood, re-enters Sybil’s life as he tries to help the Allston family. The patriarch, Lan Allston, has a distant yet strong presence throughout the novel leaving the reader wondering why he himself doesn’t get more involved in his children’s lives. With several different perspectives, time frames, and historical settings, Howe writes a rich and complex novel.
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