[close] When college student Lee Donne agrees to housesit for her grandfather in his hundred-year-old Oregon farmhouse, she has no idea why it's protected with such an up-to-date security system. She discovers the reason after an attempt to scare her out of the house backfires: buried in an abandoned root cellar is the proof of a hideous crime that occurred long before she was born, one whose revelation could destroy the political ambitions of a very powerful man and put Lee, her best friend, and even her grandfather in jeopardy. Wilhelm elevates a ho-hum plot into a suspenseful narrative that sheds light on a dark chapter in history and illuminates its effect on three generations of an American family. This is an unusual coming-of-age story about a young woman who finds her destiny in a place she never expected to discover it, written with Wilhelm's usual skill and verve. --Jane Adams [close]