The tragic rivalry between the Durie brothers destroys a noble Scottish family in this dark tale of psychological warfare. The story follows the virtuous but dull Henry and his charming, demonic brother James from the Jacobite rising to the remote wilderness of the Adirondacks. It is a gothic masterpiece that explores the nature of evil and the suffocating bond of blood, told through the dry, reliable voice of the family steward. The novel’s atmosphere of creeping dread makes it one of the author’s most powerful and unsettling works.