"The Great War is still raging in the autumn of 1916, when
Francesca Hatton's beloved grandfather dies on the family
estate in England's isolated Exe Valley. Grieving for the
man who raised her, Francesca is stunned to find an
unsigned letter among his effects, cursing the Hattons and
their descendants. Now a stranger has shown up on her
doorstep, accusing her grandfather of being a
murderer." "Ex-soldier Richard Leighton blames Francis
Hatton for the death of his mother, who vanished nearly a
quarter of a century earlier. Her body was never found,
only a shawl stained with her blood. And Leighton is not
the only one with a claim on Francesca's grandfather. On
the day of his funeral, unexpected visitors arrive with
the mourners, and Francesca is besieged by charges of
Hatton's vicious dealings. Yet there is also a shy young
woman who praises his secret generosity." "At the center
of the intrigue is an unusual white stone that lies hidden
in a secluded garden where Francesca once played with her
five male cousins, all of them dead now on the
battlefields of France. According to the terms of Hatton's
will, the Murder Stone must be dug up and transported to
Scotland, where it is to be buried forever. But before
Francesca can begin the journey, a series of
ominous "accidents" occur, culminating in the discovery of
a bleeding body on the Murder Stone itself." Was Hatton
the loving, caring protector his granddaughter always
believed him to be? Or a vindictive, secretive man who
cultivated dangerous enemies? Francesca sets out in
pursuit of the truth - and into the sights of someone
determined to exact a revenge long overdue.
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