This is a story of mystery and friendship, old and new. Loyalties are tested when Edie Wilson returns to the boarding school, Knight’s Haddon, and has to bunk with new girl, Janet. Edie’s best friend, Anastasia Stolonov, is moved to a different room. Anastasia is jealous of Janet’s burgeoning friendship with Edie and the time Edie spends with Janet. Meanwhile, tension erupts at Knight’s Haddon and in the local town due to the sale of a piece of property that is adjacent to the school grounds. Locals are leading a political activism campaign to save the trees from being bulldozed. As Janet secretly becomes involved in the campaign, Edie and Anastasia spy on her to try and figure out why she is behaving so mysteriously.  Anastasia has a secret of her own and hopes to keep her family’s role in the sale of the land under wraps for fear of being treated badly  by the other students at Knight’s Hadden. Schoolgirl antics, jealousy, and mysterious behavior fill the pages as the girls’ lives intersect.

This book is a companion to The Girl with the Glass Bird.  It can stand alone, but reading the books in order would help frame the setting and provide background information on characters and relationships.  Additional purchase, especially if the library already contains the first book.