In the summer of 1844, Tom Lyman flees to Bonaventure, a transcendentalist farming cooperative tucked away in eastern Connecticut, to hide from his past. There Lyman must adjust to a new life among idealists, under the fatherly eye of the groupās founder, David Grosvenor. When he isnāt ducking work or the questions of the eccentric residents, Lyman occupies himself by courting Grosvenorās daughter Minerva.
But Bonaventure isnāt as utopian as it seems. One by one, Lymanās secrets begin to catch up with him, and Bonaventure has a few secrets of its own. Why did the farm have an ominous reputation long before Grosvenor bought it? What caused the previous tenants to vanish? And who is playing the violin in the basement? Time is running out, and Lyman must discover the truth before heās driven mad by the whispering through the walls.