When Elizabeth Stratton accepts a marriage proposal from the dashing and eligible Charles Freeman, she has no idea what is soon in store for her. Moving into the old Clayton Plantation is life-changing, as was finding the diary of the first Lady of the House, written some 120 years prior, revealing the history of not only the plantation but decades of abuse the women of both the Clayton and the Freeman families endured.
Elizabeth lives vicariously through Adria's experiences as she navigates running the plantation alone while her husband is off fighting in the Civil War, aiding Southern efforts to keep slave-trading businesses--his and others--flourishing. Reading the worn pages of the old diary makes Elizabeth keenly aware of how parallel her life is to that of Adria's, while unbeknownst to anyone but her how intertwined they remain.
Determined to uncover the truth behind both families' dynasties and break the cycle of abuse, Elizabeth uncovers a jaw-dropping revelation that unravels one them completely, rendering it changed forever, while assuring the succession of the other.