The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses racism, attempted death by suicide, and graphic violence. 

On the cold evening of February 7, 1886, Mei Lien is pushed from the deck of a steamship by her father. She fights and swims and splutters. As she watches the ship sail away from her, she sees a monster with a yellow eye and loses consciousness, tired of fighting.

In the present, Inara Erickson and her sister Olivia arrive on Orcas Island to inspect Rothesay—the estate left to Inara by her late great-great-aunt Dahlia. Inara loved the island as a child, but has avoided returning since her teen years because of her mother’s death in a car accident. Inara’s mother and Dahlia are both descendants of shipping magnate Duncan Campbell. 

Inara and Olivia inspect the grounds as Inara considers her new job at Starbucks, her past on the island, and her aunt’s wishes to transform Rothesay into a bed and breakfast. In Dahlia’s small house next to the grand house of the estate, Inara suggests to Olivia that she could stay there and might enjoy it. 

After Olivia trips on a loose strip of carpet on the stairs, Inara pulls it up, discovering a package within the stairs.