Seconds after the two meet, Stephen is shot and is taken to the hospital, in very critical condition. Bill Henrick from the local police department thinks Ophelia may have been the target, especially when she is shot at inside her home several days later. Ophelia doesn’t think so, and sets out to prove that the new book Stephen was working on has caused someone great distress. 

Not wanting to put her almost-adopted daughter Tink into any further danger (Tink was kidnapped in the last book), Ophelia and her grandmother Abby, also Ophelia’s teacher in spiritual matters, decide to send Tink to Abby’s former North Carolina mountain home to spend time with aunts who will nurture Tink’s special gifts.

Without assistant Darci in tow as usual, Ophelia heads to St. Louis to find Stephen’s assistant Karen, who is then attacked and robbed of the computer discs from Stephen’s latest project. Ophelia knows she must figure out what Stephen was working on to get to the bottom of all this, and she also knows the strange dreams must be related somehow. 

Ophelia has been spending her sleeping hours as part of a drama unfolding in France during the Nazi occupation. She is beginning to believe she may have been Madeleine in a past life, and perhaps Stephen was her lover Henrick. Slowly, working back and forth between the present and the past, honing her spiritual skills as she can, Ophelia slowly uncovers what Stephen was looking for, and the people who would kill to keep it hidden.  

Ophelia is a delightful heroine who has finally accepted, and is even beginning to embrace, her skills as a witch. Having difficulties finding a serious boyfriend has not stopped Ophelia from opening her heart and her home to Tink. Abby continues to be the wise sage, allowing Ophelia to find her way with her abilities rather than giving her all the answers. The present day mystery is fairly straight forward and easy to follow, the nighttime dreams Ophelia experiences provide extra atmosphere and another layer of interest to the story. 

Long time fans of Ophelia will be sorry that once again she is unable to make a love connection, but will realize that Ophelia is the type of woman who, while she would enjoy a male companion, doesn’t need one to be complete.                               

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry