Description

In 1944, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello ends her engagement to marry a mysterious stranger, Henry Kraft, and moves to Hickory, North Carolina, a small town struggling with racial tension and World War II hardships. Henry is secretive, hides money, and shows no interest in intimacy, leaving Tess trapped in a loveless marriage. The townspeople view Tess with suspicion, especially after she is blamed for a prominent citizen's death. Tess suspects she is being watched and talked about. She turns to a local medium for understanding. When a polio epidemic strikes, Tess, a nurse, defies Henry to work at the hospital, finding purpose. Meanwhile, Henry's actions become increasingly alarming, and Tess must untangle his mysterious behavior to save her own life.