The story starts with a mysterious man & little girl arriving at a small town pub late in the night. The man has pulled the girl from the river and she appears to be dead, but then revives inexplicably. She is initially believed to be the daughter of a local couple whose child was kidnapped years before, but something just doesn't add about about this silent girl. Many begin to wonder about her - where did she come from, why was she in the river, and how did she come back from death? This book was mysterious and lyrical. It had this air of a fairy tale about it, slightly mystical and magical, yet also rooted in a group of wonderful characters in 19th century England. The story started off a little slow for me, but once I got going, I was captivated by the mystery, and the way that all of the seemingly unrelated characters started coming together. It would be hard for me to enjoy a book as much as I did her previous novel, The Thirteenth Tale, but this book came close. It would be great for a book club too.