Product Description

The veneer of extravagant Manhattan and Long Island high society appears glamorous and alluring, but as this story demonstrates, grand appearances often lead to violent deceptions. Faith Crowell is an artist in her 30s on the rebound from an ill-fated relationship with a self-involved writer. A specialist in the art of trompe l'oeil, Faith is in demand to embellish the houses of New York's wealthiest socialites. Contacted by Frances Griffin, a grande dame and reclusive widow, Faith is assigned to paint the ballroom of Madame Griffin's Long Island mansion. Faith's instructions are to recreate, in painting, the debutante ball of Madame Griffin's daughter, Cassandra, who died under mysterious circumstances on the very night of the ball many years before. Just as layers of paint are added to the moribund ballroom, layers of deception are stripped away, revealing to Faith more and more details about the events of that fateful night until she stands on the threshold of a terrible realization.