After her parents died, Julie Jacobs left her small hometown and the safety and security her sister provided to take a job as a nurse companion to an elderly woman at luxurious Bigelow Manor on the outskirts of Buffalo, New York. Julie soon found herself in a maze of mystery and intrigue. The young nurse couldn't help wondering why Brad, her patient's stern, terse son had insisted on seeing her photo before summoning her to Buffalo. It was as if he deliberately hired her because she resembled a mystery woman in the portrait that hung in his library . a woman he hated. And then terrible accidents suddenly befell Julie. Was there any connection between them and brooding, attractive Brad Bigelow? Julie only found comfort with Mrs. Bigelow, her plump amiable patient and with Pekos, Mrs. Bigelow's tiny white Pekinese, as she tried to determine just who she could trust. Surrounded by several men, who professed an interest in her only made her more nervous and uncomfortable. Just who was trying to harm her?