Mary Funk

When a great hurt is done us, we never recover until we forgive—even if it takes us more than one lifetime to get there.

Sarah Ferguson agrees. She'll tell you all about the nightmares. Not the usual sort of bad dreams, mind you. Hers are in-your-face real—like running to the bathroom to spit out the blood in her mouth real. After that, she sits up the rest of the night, too upset and afraid to go back to sleep. The doctors tell her nothing is physically wrong with her. The last one sends her to Dr. Tremaine, the go-to therapist for sufferers of "mystery" illnesses—the place where they send all the crazy people.

But under Dr. Tremaine's expert guidance, Sarah mind-travels to far-away ancient Persia—and comes face-to-face with Ayisha, the keeper of the secret behind her debilitating nightmares. What emerges is nothing less than a mystical journey as Sarah trails a young woman's descent from youthful innocence to love crushed so completely only hatred and vengeance can stand in its wake.

What Ayisha plans to do to get her revenge, however, threatens to destroy the lives of virtually everyone around her—including Sarah's, as she lies in hypnotic trance on the therapist's couch.