It is first time that Isabella Galloway has returned to Evansville since she made her escape from her egotistical and controlling mother four years earlier. Bella would not have come now, if it were not for Leona Hodge, the woman she considered her real mother. Leona's urgent telegram informing Bella that her mother, the famous Virginia Galloway, was on her deathbed, was quite unexpected and Bella did not truly believe Virginia could be dying. When Bella left Evansville she had also left behind the love of her life, Neil Whitely, because she believed he had been unfaithful to her with none other than her own mother, Virginia. The prospect of seeing him again filled her with dread, because no matter how hard she tried to forget him, she could not. Bella traveled to France and had become a distinguished artist. By the time she returned to the United States and took a position at Carrington Academy as instructor, she considered herself truly independent. Her fear that the trip to her hometown would undo everything she had worked so hard to accomplish would only be the tip of what was to befall her as she discovers the curse of the Black Diamond Lavaliere.

In 1906, things were going quite well for Lieutenant Banks and his wife, Maggie. They were happily expecting their first child in few short months. Then everything changed when a body of a woman was found murdered in Willard Park. It was bad enough to find the woman’s body on a park beach, but she was positioned as if she were lying in a coffin, with the first Roman numeral carved in her neck. The lieutenant knew he had a madman on the loose with a promise of more death in the future. Things became more complicated when the second victim was discovered and put Maggie in peril. Lieutenant Banks found himself in the most heart wrenching circumstances that he had ever faced in his entire career.

Fledgling advice columnist, Loraine Scotsman, is shocked when she starts receiving threatening letters. Every advice columnist receives their share of hate mail, but these letters leave her scared for her safety and that of her young son. Recently divorced and fighting for custody of her young son, she doesn’t want to go public with the threats. She reaches out to her cousin’s neighbor, Maggie Banks, wife of the famous lieutenant Theodore Banks, for help. Who could be behind these threats? Could it be her ex-husband or his family, or could it be a disgruntled reader? Before long, it becomes obvious that someone is targeting her, literally.

Althea Hawley never knew her father Albert Miles Hawley, or any of the wealthy Hawley family. Her mother was widow with two young daughters and had married Albert for security, Althea was born a year later and Albert died when she was two. Althea half- sisters’ behavior towards her was less than kind. She was painfully shy, so when she started getting invitations to come to Hawley Hill Manor to meet her Aunt Camille and her cousins she was nervous. Even so, she decided she wanted to get acquainted with her father’s family. She was fifteen and enjoyed her first trip to Peoria, Illinois. However during her second trip, she finds herself in a confusing and somewhat embarrassing situation and she refused to return to Hawley Hill Manor. Six years later, she receives a summons from her aunt that she can’t ignore. Upon her return bizarre accidents begin to happen to her and others around her and she finds herself caught in web of intrigue, fear and romance.

Anne Legate was born out of wedlock and at the turn of the twentieth century these circumstances of her birth were not only considered disgraceful but caused society to shun her. After her mothers death, young Anne was forced to play the role of servant in order to live in her grandfathers house. Anne kept her level-headedness even though she suffered cruel abuse from her grandfather and her narcissistic cousin Ramona. She had two people in her life that made life worth living, Perry Sawyer whom she had loved from an early age, but could never share her feelings for him, because of her illegitimate birth and Sally Lancaster, her dear friend and the house housekeeper for the Sawyers. One day when Anne happens upon a murder scene in the alley near her home, her life changes from one of drudgery to one of terror. Who is mysterious man in the overcoat that is playing menacing games with her? Will she be his next victim?

It is first time that Isabella Galloway has returned to Evansville since she made her escape from her egotistical and controlling mother four years earlier. Bella would not have come now, if it were not for Leona Hodge, the woman she considered her real mother. Leona's urgent telegram informing Bella that her mother, the famous Virginia Galloway, was on her deathbed, was quite unexpected and Bella did not truly believe Virginia could be dying. When Bella left Evansville she had also left behind the love of her life, Neil Whitely, because she believed he had been unfaithful to her with none other than her own mother, Virginia. The prospect of seeing him again filled her with dread, because no matter how hard she tried to forget him, she could not. Bella traveled to France and had become a distinguished artist. By the time she returned to the United States and took a position at Carrington Academy as instructor, she considered herself truly independent. Her fear that the trip to her hometown would undo everything she had worked so hard to accomplish would only be the tip of what was to befall her as she discovers the curse of the Black Diamond Lavaliere.

In 1706, Spanish colonists founded the Villa de Alburquerque on the wooded banks of the Rio Grande. Three hundred years later, that once quiet farming community has grown to become Albuquerque, the largest city in the state of New Mexico. Over the centuries, this fascinating city's identity has metamorphosed many times. In 1862, it briefly became the western capital of the Confederate States of America, before Confederate hopes for the territory were destroyed at the Battle of Glorieta Pass. In 1880, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad brought industry and wealth from the east, as well as tuberculosis-infected "lungers" who came by the thousands to seek a cure in "the Heart of Health Country." Then, in 1926, Route 66 transformed the city into a neon-decked oasis for automobile travelers journeying through the newly accessible West. Though many of these identities have faded, their legacy lives on in the beating heart of an ever-changing city.

Amid the drama of high school exams, social cliques, and personal relationships, Milo Sylph prepares himself for the biggest test of all. Lavaliere testing has begun and at the end of the day, only a select few will bond with a gem to harness their hidden potential. Each bond bestows a unique set of abilities on the user. Milo wants nothing more than to be one of those select few, a Lavaliere. However, desires often come with a price, and the true test will be far more difficult. His friendships, willpower and sense of self hang in the balance. As he strives to stand out from the crowd, will he lose himself along the way?