In order to claim their share of the estate left by their grandmother, a Portuguese marquise, Julieta and Carlos have to be able to prove that they are capable, and worthy of taking their places within in the strict, conservative family circle. For this reason the young Carlos, a student in England, and Julieta, who is in her late teens and happens to be living in South Africa at the time, are summoned to Portugal by the Marquis Ricardo de Monsaraz. At the insistence of Julieta's friends, Erin March, who is the secretary to Julieta's lawyer, Richard Monroe, accompanies the recently bereaved and complex Portuguese girl to Portugal, to keep an eye on her. There, amid the luxurious surroundings of Ricardo da Monsaraz' estate, where one electrifying incident follows another, even the cool, sedate Ellen begins to thaw Whether it is the unusual setting for this story, the manner in which Marie Warder succeeds in creating suspenseful situations, or whether both elements contribute, there is that touch of difference in this book that elevates it above the level of ordinary recreational reading material. Editor