In the early years it had been: ‘You are too young to understand, dear, and it is yet too painful for me to discuss, Isabel. Someday, when you are grown.’Isabel waited. At length the excuse became altered, turning back upon itself. ‘That was all so long ago, Isabel. Why talk of the past now? Both your parents are gone. Dragging them out of the shadows and dusting off their memories won’t bring them back again.’ At this point, Aunt Gwen would wrinkle her nose in distaste.‘You may uncover things are better left hidden. No. I cannot answer your questions.’ Isabel Emerson can’t take her spinster aunt’s cruelty any longer. It is definitely time for a change, time to find out who she really is. And thus, Isabel sails the Atlantic to England and a small girls’ school in Yorkshire, a town that is hauntingly familiar to Isabel. There she meets the dashing Damien Phillips, his secretive older brother Seymour, the loveable yet odd and neglected Willie John, and a cast of other characters who will become both enchanting and maddening to young Isabel. Out of the Shadows, which is among Susan Evans McCloud’s best work, is a fast-moving story of romance, suspense, and intrigue. Readers will quickly grow attached to this strong-willed girl and champion her cause to move on in life by discovering the truth of her family’s past and the reason behind Aunt Gwen’s bitterness. Isabel will be both startled and moved by her discovery, and readers won’t be able to put the book down until they, too, know the truth about Isabel’s parentage and realize the promises of her future.