Distraught that her academic career has stalled, Alba is walking through her when she finds herself in front of 11 Hope Street. A woman named Peggy invites her to stay, on the house's usual conditions: she has ninety-nine nights to turn her life around. With nothing left to lose, Alba moves in. But this is no ordinary house⌠Past residents have included George Eliot and Beatrix Potter, who have hung around to help newcomers - literally, in talking portraits on the wall! Alba begins a journey that will heal her wounds-and maybe even save her life.