Lara Kemp’s brother is dead. She’s a wife and a mother but she’s lost in her grief and far too many days she finds herself curled up on her closet floor, unable to function. She’s miserable and worst of all, she’s lost all her memories of her brother and can only remember him through the stories other people share. When Lara comes close to taking her own life, she and her husband take steps to get her the help she needs. They go on a much-needed visit to Lara’s aunt in the small town of Grafton, Illinois, on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. Lara finds an old book in an antique shop. The book tells the story of a woman from a wealthy family in the 19th century, whose brother died in a fishing accident. Lara finds comfort in the book and her life slowly begins to return to a new normal. Months later, she reads the book again, but this time, the book is different. Lara thinks the book has changed. It appears to be small changes at first, and Lara chalks it up to just misremembering. But as she reads on, the story takes a dark, sinister turn.