Poppy Caldwell is an orphan who keeps seeing a figure standing behind her in the mirror at the group home where she lives, but she does not associate this ghost with the letter that mysteriously appears in her file, claiming to be from a long-lost aunt, and inviting her to Larkspur House--and she is just one of five children who find themselves gathered in this strange house with a deadly past, and apparently no intention of letting the children escape....

"Simon is a liar. Stella and Alex know this about their new stepbrother, so they aren't bothered by his stories about their new house. But Simon is getting harder and harder to ignore, as his cries for attention become increasingly dangerous and difficult to explain."--

Four of the orphans who were lured to Larkspur House have made it out of the shadow house alive, but Poppy, Dash, Azumi, and Dylan are still on the grounds of the estate and far from safety--and unless they solve the mystery of what it is that the house wants from them they may never escape.