Charlotte Burke can't shake her recurring dream. Over and over again she dreams of finding a mysterious journal on a candlelit desk while wandering through a strange house in the middle of the night. Every dream has shown her a framed picture of an old woman sitting at the same desk, except the latest version. Last night, the woman stood and offered Charlotte a keyring. In the morning, Charlotte woke up with her car keys in her hand. Her best friend is worried but skeptical when Charlotte insists the house is real. The dream is metaphorical, Ivy says, reflecting Charlotte's restless state. Ivy gifts her a journal and urges her to take the trip her subconscious is demanding before she wakes up behind the wheel. A roadtrip of self-discovery will help Charlotte figure out what she really wants. Charlotte agrees to the trip but not for Ivy's reasons. To her, the house, the journal and the woman in her dream are all too real. She sets off to do the impossible. She doesn't know it yet, but if she can find the house and uncover its secrets in time, she might save far more than her driftless life. In 2020, Karen Ringel retired from an engineering career to settle in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin with her husband. After taking some time to adapt to a rural lifestyle, she started creating the fictional Casten's Horn, imagining how a small town might have been founded in the valley she lives in. Always a researcher at heart, her books include references to real bits of history and traditions in an effort to enhance her stories. She writes what she likes to read: small town mysteries with a cozy feel.