Jorja DuPont Oliva

Sisterly Jorja DuPont Oliva

Janie Edwards has a dark calling on the verge of revealing itself. She sets out, returning home after thirty years, to make amends with her sister, Brea, and her first love, Dillon McCrane, before they discover her skeleton in the closet-or it discovers them. But there is a problem standing in Janie's way: Brea and Dillon are husband and wife. While bracing herself to face Brea, Janie rents a room from Ms. Francis, a mysterious old black woman. Ms. Francis consents to give Janie the room only if Janie helps take care of her guests. Janie agrees-with the assumption these guests are just regular people. Many perplexities linger around Ms. Francis' big yellow house, with its odd guests, Janie, and an ever-reliable train passing in the night. Even Ms. Francis has buried secrets of her own. After Janie returns from an unsuccessful visit with her sister, Ms. Francis reveals the biggest secret of all, the sacred back yard. Guest-or ghost?-Janie struggles to find her own sanity but is desperate to reconcile with her sister