After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noem? Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noem? knows little about the region. Noem? is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noem?; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.