IN 1971, THE STATE OF MINNESOTA WAS rocked by the Butcher Boy incident, as coverage of a family brutally murdered by one of their own swept across newspapers and TV screens nationwide. Now, in present-day New Orleans, Polly Deschamps finds herself at another lonely crossroads in her life. No stranger to tragedy, Polly was a runaway at the age of fifteen, escaping a nightmarish Mississippi childhood. Lonely, that is, until she encounters architect Marshall Marchand. Polly finds him attractive, charming, and intelligent. Marshall, a lifelong bachelor, spends most of his time with his brother Danny. When Polly s two young daughters from her previous marriage are likewise taken with Marshall, she marries him. However, as Polly begins to settle into her new life, she becomes uneasy about her husband s increasing dark moods, fearing that Danny may be influencing Marshall in ways she cannot understand.
