Alone and afraid, she has just fled a brutal English boarding school where punishment was the lesson of the day. When she meets an old woman who offers her employment as a maid at a boardinghouse, Louisa thinks she has been saved. 

But soon after her arrival at Coldthistle House, Louisa begins to realize that the house’s mysterious owner, Mr. Morningside, is providing much more than lodging for his guests. Far from a place of rest, the house is a place of judgment, and Mr. Morningside and his staff are meant to execute their own brand of dark justice on those who are past being saved.

Louisa begins to fear for a young man named Lee, who is not like the other guests. He is charismatic and kind, and Louisa knows that it may be up to her to save him from an untimely judgment. But in this house of distortions and lies, how can Louisa be sure whom to trust?

In this first book in Madeleine Roux’s new gothic horror series, photographs and illustrations help bring to life a terrifying house you’ll want to visit—and escape from—again and again.