Her first big chance. An assignment any woman would envy: 21-year-old Samantha Crawford is sent to Maine to interview Peter Castellano for 'Secrets' magazine. And moreover, the Valentino of the stage has specifically requested that she write his biography.

Accompanied by her rakish photographer, Samantha dashes headlong into disaster in a Kremlin-style fortress high above the Atlantic Ocean. She encounters a devastating, ageless man, born to Russian nobility and raised on this estate, steadfastly dedicated to Old World tradition. And she is drawn into the intrigue of Castellano's passionate and beautiful daughter -- a daughter whose love for her father is a threat to every woman who enter the gates of WITCH'S HAMMER.