Seeking to escape the memory of her husband's tragic death, Laura Dickinson leaves the North and takes a job as a librarian in the small town of Chapelle, Louisiana. She soon meets Robert LeBlanc. Owner of Chateau Camille and single father to a little girl badly in need of a mother, Robert sees everything through the lens of the past and local custom. Strongly attracted to him, Laura scoffs at the old tales. In tiny Chapelle, however, history is very much alive, but mad women and disturbed children are no longer locked in attics. Forced to face her feelings for Robert on Mardi Gras day, Laura unwittingly unleashes a series of events that lead to fire and bloodshed. Will their fledgling relationship survive?