"Merrick Darling's life as a daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the toxic fog that encroached on England generations earlier. She will never become a Phantom--one of the monstrous creatures that stalk her province's borders--and as long as the fires burn to hold them back, her safety is ensured. She wants for nothing, yet she will never inherit her family's Manor. She must marry smartly or live at the kindness of her elder sister, Essie. Everything is turned on its head, though, when Merrick's father dies suddenly. Torn from her New London society life, Merrick must travel back to Norland House, her childhood home, where she finds the once strong and capable Essie now withdrawn and frightened--and with good cause. A recent string of attacks has turned their bucolic countryside into a terrifying and unpredictable landscape. The fog is closing in and the fires aren't holding, which makes Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more ways than one. Because the Phantoms are far from the only monsters in Merrick's world, and the other Manor Lords are always watching for weakness. Revealing her and her sister's current state is out of the question, but when Essie goes missing, Merrick needs help. Only, who can she trust when everyone seems to be scheming, and when all she holds true feels like it's slipping from her grasp?"-- Dust jacket flap.
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