When Lily stumbles across the ambitious young artist Andrien Charron at a grand masquerade ball at the Sylvain estate, she is intrigued by the hunger burning in his gaze. Regardless of their shared appreciation for the articulation of beauty, of the richness of the visible world, regardless that he makes something warm bloom inside her heart, she should have stepped back and turned away. She should not have led him to the hedge maze. She should not have risked that small lie. Lies are double-edged weapons. They pave the way for enchanted evenings—and perhaps also the fulfilment of tragic destinies.
