In the wake of his divorce and the loss of his New York art job, Shane Bellamy is bereft and directionless. The remote cottage on the Missouri river provides the perfect escape: small, picturesque, and lonely. There, Shane becomes fascinated with the history of the cottage, and that of its larger sister property, the Riverhouse, now demolished. Inspired, he embarks on an unusual art project, one that almost seems to have a life of its own. As the painting develops, surprising Shane both with its style and its strange, silent strength, he finds that the image is a sort of portal, inviting him into the Riverhouse's past. He learns of it owners, portrait artist Gustav Wilhelm, known for his arrogance as much for his genius, and of Wilhelm's wife, the beautiful but ignored Marlena. His painting progress, and the story blooms in Shane's mind like a dark rose, full of deepening mystery and harrowing secrets…Gradually, Shane comes to realize that the decades' old drama isn't yet finished. Ghosts haunt the cottage, particularly the intriguing Marlena, and Shane cannot help being inexplicably drawn to her, despite her obvious dangers. As a result, Shane finds himself caught in the spiraling collision course of his own life and that of the Riverhouse. He knows he should escape, and yet he cannot seem to walk away. After all, he thinks, ghosts can't harm the living. Can they?In the end, the power of the story draws Shane into its embrace, like a man walking right up to a cliff's edge, believing he can stop anytime, not knowing that there is someone behind him, sneaking up, waiting for just the right moment, the perfect moment, to give one…little…push.

Two years after the debacle of the Morrigan Web, James Potter returns to Hogwarts for his final year. With the Vow of Secrecy crumbling in every corner, the Magical world prepares for its imminent collapse into Muggle reality, whether they are ready for such a revelation or not. James, along with his longtime companions Ralph Deedle, Zane Walker, and Rose Weasley, are drawn into a secret plot by none other than Petra Morganstern herself to assume the role of the Crimson Thread in its original, doomed dimension, thus resetting our own. But can James allow Petra, his long unrequited love, to leave his reality forever, no matter the cost?