Summary

Chapters 3 & 4

The narrative jumps ahead in time 800 years to 2013, in County Mayo, Ireland. Iona Sheehan has just arrived from America in search of her ancestors. Back home, her parents had always been dispassionate, even mildly annoyed by her, and she always longed for a deeper connection with family. Despite the fact that she has moved here for good, Iona books herself into the ancient castle in County Mayo, the very place her grandmother said their ancestors came from. Her grandmother had told her lots of things – stories about the Dark Witch – and Iona now vows to get to the bottom of her family mystery. She has never felt like she belonged back home, and she hopes she will find her place here.

On her first day in Ireland, Iona braces herself against the storm and hikes down the pathway, through the woods, to where...