Terrible beauty best describes the world of Imagination Prymm. Set in 1678 Ipswich, Massachusetts, against a dark backdrop of Puritan narrowness and fear, old Imagination Prymm lives on the edge of her woods, a practicing healer and midwife, keeping close to herself and making a simple living. But her quiet world of spinning, making black silk bone lace, and growing herbs for medicine is soon torn by dark accusations of witchcraft from a troubled fourteen-year-old girl, Remember Minter. Questioned by magistrates and forced to defend herself, Goody Prymm is ultimately exonerated, the lying girl sentenced to be her helpmeet through the spring. This proves to be a boon for them both, as their experiences together lead them into a deep and loving relationship, something both desperately need, each drawing strength from the other. Like two candles that gleam most brightly in the darkest of corners, Imagination and Remember find their light in the darkness of the times simply by opening themselves to love.