For the Lady Kaline de Belmar, it should be a time of great happiness. As the official social season begins, Kaline and her grandmother, the dowager duchess Catherine de Belmar, accept an invitation to attend a ball at Greywycke Castle, the ancestral home of her godfather. Before they depart, however, the duchess informs Kaline that a male heir has been found for the Belmar title, supplanting both women-and that Kaline should prepare for an arranged marriage, a prospect she does not care for.

Kaline is being courted by the mysterious Sir Edward Brune, but her grandmother informs Kaline that Brune is an unsuitable match and that other prospective suitors she has chosen for her will be present at the ball. Soon after Kaline arrives at the event, however, eerie occurrences begin to undermine the event, putting Kaline and her companions under the control of an unknown force that seems to be shaping the course of the weekend-and their destinies.

In this suspenseful tale, murder, mayhem, and mystery surround a castle above the sea, and a young lady discovers she must rely on the wisdom of strange creatures and her own inner strength in order to triumph over evil and take control of her fate.