Abandoned as a baby, her exotic beauty prompted hushed whispers of gypsy blood. But lovely Carmel March remained shrouded in mystery.... When tragedy struck her adopted home of Commonwood House, little Carmel had been bundled off to Australia. Returning to England as a young woman, she became haunted by questions from her past, as well as the shocking revelation that she had been rushed from a murder scene those many years ago. Yet she was convinced that the wrong man had been sentenced for the crime. Was the answer locked away in her childhood memory--or in the dark, secretive behavior of her old childhood friend, Lucian? And what fateful role did the opals--always present at crucial moments of her life--play? For only when she released the dark secrets imprisoned at Commonwood would she find the freedom to love.... "Victoria Holt's mysteries are among the best." --Minneapolis Star #38; Tribune "The prolific Miss Holt--.combines suspense and romance with the master's touch." --Boston Herald Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

A waif left under an azalea bush is taken in by the well-to-do English family of Doctor and Mrs. Marline and passes a decade before realizing that she is actually a relation (the illegitimate daughter of her Uncle Toby) rather than the outcast she has been made to feel. The realization comes only after her father sweeps her away to join him on an international trading voyage. In reality, Toby is protecting her from the trial of the doctor for the murder of his wife. Years later, as a grown woman, Carmel returns home to England, discovers the family scandal, and sets out to prove the doctor's innocence. Although at times not up to Holt's standard quality, this multilayered fiction is pleasant and rife with surprises. (Reviewed Sept. 1, 1993)038547024XDenise Perry Donavin From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.