Successful New York artist Mignon Thibeaux has returned to her hometown in northern Louisiana to investigate her mother's disappearance 25 years ago. Everyone believes Mignon's mother ran off with her married lover, Luc St Michel, one of the richest and most powerful men in the parish and a descendant of a long line of wealthy plantation owners, but Mignon is not so sure. Convinced that her mother was instead murdered by Luc's vindictive wife, Mignon confronts the past in a terrifying journey of treachery and murder.