The Sign of the Serpent — Sara Hely

"It's the night people," whispered Jemima, gazing towards the darkened window with wide frightened eyes. "They're waiting out there..."

In the hopes of aiding her twin brother, who is in desperate danger, beautiful young Caroline Morrisey is persuaded unwillingly to accept a position as governess at Mount Sweeney, a grim clifftop house on the rocky coast of Ireland. But she is not long in the troubled land of her birth before she realizes that something suspicious is going on: Who are the cloaked intruders known as "the night people"? Why do they use the Sweeney serpent for their sign? Will they really lead her to her brother, Gilbert? Most of all, should she trust or fear the master of the house, Lord Vale?

Caroline is increasingly torn between loyalty to Gilbert and a growing fascination with the wicked Sweeneys. There is no one to turn to, no escape from an adventure full of treachery, intrigue and romance.

Set in an eighteenth-century Ireland torn by poverty, unrest and the threat of a French invasion, The Sign of the Serpent demonstrates once again that Sara Hely is a first-class writer of romantic suspense.