In 1954 in the segregated South, Emily Chandler's childhood innocence is shattered when she and her brother discover a young black woman alone and dying in childbirth. Emily confronts the tragedy when she returns to her roots many years later to attend the funeral of a beloved nanny and finds herself the target of a stalker. As the saga of secrets, tragedy and discovery unfolds she enlists the help of Adelle Jones -- the family laundress and part-time voodoo practitioner -- in the search for blues musician Charlie Dixon, the nanny's missing son. This novel, set in the South Carolina Lowcountry, brings to life the eclectic personalities and explosive issues that continue to shape the New South.