A HAUNTING, SUSPENSEFUL TALE ABOUT TWO SISTERS, TWO BABIES, AND ONE DARK NIGHT

A stunning portrait of the ties that bind sisters together and the forces that tear them apart, of the dangers of keeping secrets and the explosive repercussions that come when they are exposed. Christina Schwarz's mesmerizing debut has already generated tremendous excitement. Publishing rights have been sold in nine countries, Miramax has optioned the film rights, with Wes Craven scheduled to direct, and Schwarz has received off-the-book-page coverage in such publications as the New York Post and Variety.

The First World War is drawing to a close, and Amanda Starkey is seemingly overcome by the physical and emotional strain of nursing soldiers in Milwaukee. Hoping that life with her beloved sister Mattie and her three-year-old niece Ruth will restore her and help her recover from a traumatic love affair, Amanda returns to the family farm on a lake in rural Wisconsin. A year after Amanda's arrival, Mattie's husband comes home from the war to find that his wife has mysteriously drowned. Amanda has taken charge of Ruth, assuming her responsibility with an unnatural, almost frightening intensity. She adamantly refuses to reveal what happened the night Mattie died, an obsession that continues for many years. Ruth remembers the night her mother drowned with increasing clarity, until she finally becomes complicit in Amanda's secret.

Deftly written and emotionally powerful, DROWNING RUTH is a page-turning narrative of a family drama that is original and achingly believable.