October, 1799. There are more than a few ghosts within the walls of Danesmoor and more than a few dark secrets.... Filled with panic and despair after being falsely accused of a crime and banished from her village, Anna stumbles on to Danesmoor--a remote castle outside of Dover--and takes up a secret residence within. She's like a ghost; silent and unseen, always observing, never being observed. She lives to rescue her daughters from their father and stepmother, who betrayed her, and so, every day, she works to prepare a place for her family to survive the brutal winter months. In this unnatural state, she studies the inmates of Danesmoor, and is particularly drawn to John Holbrecht, the master of Danesmoor. John seems preoccupied with his own unhappiness, despite the fact that he is engaged to be married to the utterly beautiful Josephine Preston. The Telling is an epic tale of betrayal and revenge, heartbreak and survival, friendship and love. As each character encounters another, the story unfolds, providing an intimate glimpse at lives in England at the dawn of the nineteenth century.