An innocent bayou girl lost to New Orleans. One of the most popular storytellers of all time, V.C. Andrews (Flowers in the Attic, My Sweet Audrina) layers psychological suspense with sheer terror in this provocative first book of the classic Landry Family series.

Even in the heart of the bayou, innocence can’t last forever....

The only family Ruby Landry has ever known are her loving guardian Grandmere Catherine, a Cajun spiritual healer, and her drunken Grandpere Jack. Although thinking about her dead mother and mysterious father sometimes makes her feel as sad and solemn as the wind sighing through the Spanish moss, Ruby is grateful for what she has. Her life is filled with hope and promise, especially when her attraction to handsome Paul Tate blossoms into a wonderful love affair. But Paul’s wealthy parents forbid him to associate with a poor Landry, and Grandmere urges Ruby to focus on her dream of becoming a great painter.

An uncertain future looms....

A shocking scheme of blackmail and deception comes to light when Ruby sees her father for the first time in a faded photograph. Stunned and devastated when Grandmere dies soon after, she is left to seek out an explanation on her own. Finding her father in his massive New Orleans mansion, Ruby is quickly subjected to his world of lies, torment...and madness. Still, she clings to her memories of Paul - for only true love might be able to save her now.