A brother sent away. A sister in a loveless home. A father ruthlessly murdered.

Ricky and Leonora Bates are brother and sister, best friends, allies—and a constant disappointment to their domineering father. He views Ricky’s bookishness as weakness and Leonora’s feisty intelligence as unbecoming. Then Ricky is packed off to a boarding school in South Africa to “toughen him up.” And Leonora is stuck with her dysfunctional parents on her own.

The unthinkable happens. Five years later, Leonora’s father flies down to South Africa to bring Ricky home. Something terrible happens. Her dad’s body is found with a fatal gunshot wound. And her brother is nowhere to be seen. Now Leonora must find out the truth.

Utterly absorbing and beautifully written, this taut psychological thriller will keep you guessing until its chilling conclusion.