Featuring an embattled young doctor, a divided Pennsylvania town, and a turn-of-the-century national scandal, this is a fascinating and detailed story of love, death, redemption, and the rise of modern medicine against 19th-century opposition and ignorance. Revealing the terrible secrets of Jonathan Ferrier--the complex and capricious healer of Hambledon who remains an enigma to both his medical enemies and his friends--this novel tells the story of a brilliant and persecuted physician hounded by the double furies of a tragic past and threatened present. Amid the controversy, Dr. Robert Morgan--a sympathetic outsider and Dr. Ferrier's personal associate--finds himself hard-pressed to separate the facts from the lies in the rumors that surround his mentor. What is known by everyone is that Jonathan Ferrier's wife, Mavis, died in circumstances as grisly as they were well publicized. Bringing into play an astonishing range of characters and motives--the lusty, laughing, almost demoniac Mavis, whose memory haunts her husband; Ferrier's gentle and indomitable mother, whose affection provides balm against the prevailing resentment and hostility of her son's fellow doctors; his brother Harald and lovely "niece" Jenny; and the heroic and powerful politicians who plot to destroy Jonathan Ferrier--this thrilling story is filled with compassionate yet cynical observations that culminate in an accomplished and memorable work of fiction.