Is Julia Darbor just imagining threats to her life when she arrives in Italy to attend the funeral of her sister, Elizabeth? On an Etruscan archeological dig, Elizabeth had been staying in the family castle when she had a fatal car crash. Was it an accident? Julia begins to have strong doubts as she realizes that she, too, is in danger Why did her father, as a young man, go to America to never return to claim his inheritance? Why did her Aunt Renata, the sick, aging beauty, tell Julia to leave and why was Contessa Filippa, her Grandmother, wanting her to stay? How was it that American Buffalo soldiers saved the life, in l944, of Alfredo, the sinister castle manservant? What was he doing at the Sant'Anna Massacre? And who is responsible for the attempts upon Julia's life? Was it Giovanni, her handsome cousin and if so, why?