"September 1934"--Michael Northwood plunges into the Willamette River to the sound of horrifying screams from the luxury liner Morro Castle as it founders, ablaze in a raging sea. His one, all-consuming thought is of his beloved wife, who had been with him on the ill-fated ship.

"Present Day"--It should have been a fatal accident, but Amanda Poole inexplicably vanishes from her car the instant before it crashes. She is shaken but untouched, except for certain strange and unwanted abilities that she now possesses. Her well-ordered life as curator of Pittock Mansion begins to crumble, as...