Social worker Alison Taylor has a passion for protecting children and seeing that justice is served on their behalf, but when she starts getting harassing phone calls and bizarre "gifts," it seems she may be the one in need of protection.

Caring for her family on their mid-20th-century tobacco farm after the loss of her parents, 15-year-old Ivy connects with Grace County social worker Jane, who strains her personal and professional relationships with her advocacy of Ivy's family, whose dark secrets test Jane's resolve against racial tensions and state-mandated sterilizations.

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter Sister comes a new work of psychological horror about a therapist who returns to the old family home after her sister drowns in its swimming pool, where she discovers that it has something sinister lurking beneath its surface"--

"A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret. Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel...