Readers have long wondered what befell the Emerson clan during the years before the Great War. Now, at last, the silence is broken and the truth revealed of a perilous journey to a secret and mysterious place hidden deep in the heart of the unforgiving desert. Propelled by loyalty and spurred on by lies and treachery, they discover a nest of vipers, a dark past, and a shocking mystery — and a loved one may be lost forever.