Jennifer Winfield goes to work as a residential secretary at the Manor House where the elderly Lady Barclay is researching a book of the family history. Jenny had intended the job should be merely a means of filling in time until her fiance, Peter, returns from an appointment abroad. But although life is initially uneventful in the secluded Manor, it does not remain so for long... The unexpected arrival of Simon Barclay, and her meeting with the young American, Allan Howe, turn Jenny’s world upside down and plunges her into an emotional upheaval. Unprepared for the powerful attraction she feels for two very different men, Jenny’s emotions veer chaotically out of control. Now unable to face Peter, she breaks off their engagement… but knows there is no certainty that either Simon or Allan will want to take his place. In the strangest way the history seems to repeat itself as the past of the Barclay ancestors then begins to merge with the present in an intriguing, disturbing and romantic manner... but with sinister undertones that threaten tragedy.

Originally published as "The Crimson Tapestry" by Patricia Robins.