"An unconventional woman and a man shrouded in mystery walk a tightrope of desire as they race against a killer to find a machine that could change the world"-- Provided by publisher.

Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn moved to Burning Cove to reinvent herself, but after spending her inheritance on a mansion with the intention of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, she learns that the villa is said to be cursed. When the first guest, Dr. Norman Pickwell, is murdered by his robot invention during a sold-out demonstration, rumors circulate that the curse is real. In the chaotic aftermath, Amalie watches Matthias Jones disappear behind the curtain, and reappear slipping a gun into a concealed holster. Matthias suspects Pickwell stole a groundbreaking prototype cipher machine and planned to sell it. But now Pickwell is dead, the machine has vanished, and time is running out. -- adapted from jacket