Anne Loveday has sworn off romance. Fleeing her stepmother’s persistent matchmaking attempts, she returns to Painswick, where she and her sister spent many idyllic summers until the man her sister loved was forbidden to marry her.

In a twist of fate, Anne is asked to serve as nurse to the very woman who destroyed her sister’s happiness—the formidable Lady Celia Fitzjohn of Painswick Court. Despite her misgivings, Anne accepts the position, but soon strange “accidents” begin plaguing her difficult patient. Someone wants Lady Celia dead. The suspect list grows: Lady Celia’s spinster daughter, her handsome nephews, a mysterious new lady’s maid, and even two local doctors, one of whom seems determined to break through Anne’s carefully constructed defenses.

When evidence points to Anne herself, she must unravel the tangled web of resentments and rivalries within Painswick Court. Can she discover the real killer—and protect her heart—before it’s too late?