Clare Smith, facing a life very different from what she had dreamed, finds helself almost destitute and alone when her mother dies suddenly. She is struggling with decisions that will determine her future when a strange letter offers hope and opens the door to a Cinderella-like life: Clare learns she is a member of one of the most prominent families in Portland, Oregon.
Suddenly her money worries gone, her future secure, she finds even more family than she ever imagined as she uncovers secrets hidden for a generation. Maturing quickly, her new life is plagued by strange events that cast a cloud over her fairytale existence.
At the conclusion of the Annual Portland Rose Festival, these events take a dramatic turn, resulting in life-altering changes for everyone related to Clare. The horrible conclusion to this story leaves the reader in shock and Clare's family forever altered.