Once upon a time, the townspeople of F -. did something bad . . . Local schoolteacher Catherine Evans has made writing the definitive account of what happened when Ilsbeth Clark drowned in the well her life's work. Some don't want the past raked up, but Catherine is determined to shine a light upon that shameful event. Because Ilsbeth was an innocent, shunned and ostracized by rumour-mongers and ill-wishers, and someone has to speak up for her. And who better than Catherine, who has herself felt the sting and hurt of such whisperings? And then a childhood friend returns to F -. Elena is a successful author who's earned a certain celebrity. Now in search of a new subject, she announces her intention to write a book about the long-dead woman. And Elena has everything Catherine has not. A platform. And connections. And no one seems to care that this book will be pure speculation, tainting Ilsbeth's memory. Catherine is left with no option but to blunt her rival's pen ... Before summer is over, one woman will be dead and the other accused of murder. But is she guilty, or are there other forces at work? And who was Ilsbeth Clark, really? An innocent? A witch? Or something else entirely?