A trip back to the Victorian era is the last thing Cayla Hayne expects for the holidays… until a last-minute errand on a rainy night transforms her entire existence. She finds herself whisked away from her life as a grad student in the here and now, into a time and place she knows nothing about.
She soon discovers this is no ordinary 1800s village. In the town known as Francisburgh, holiday wonder enlivens the cobblestone streets and quaint shops. Carolers roam about during the days known as The Eventides to Christmas.
And much to Cayla’s astonishment, so do people long gone from her past, as well as the life she just left behind.
She has no idea how to get home to her normal life, where her fiancé still awaits. Surely, there must be a way to return, whether through a portal, a vortex… perhaps some otherworldly path. Can she find answers—and the way home—amongst folk living as seamstresses and lamplighters?
Then there’s the enigmatic storekeeper in the toy shop, whose somewhat mysterious utterances leave her guessing about whether he’s as straightforward as he would have her believe.
Amidst all the unexpected encounters, she must face not only an unfamiliar bygone era, but quandaries hidden within herself that suddenly resurface.
Yet every time Cayla feels she’s making progress toward a way home, something keeps her stuck in a town of awkward 1800s etiquette, as she questions her very existence.
Living in a landscape of holiday charm, she seeks the key to her return. Will she ever go back to her old life and the future she planned—or will she wind up adjusting to a life of antiquated roles, corsets and horse-drawn coaches? In a world adorned by the ambience of Christmases of yore and golden pocket watches, only time will tell.
Content note: This book has scenarios of a brief accident scene and references to taking one’s own life.
