Meg Rhys, a self-styled spinster librarian, is asked by an out-of-town visitor in the local history section of her Brooklyn library to find information on his family’s property in Brooklyn. The tenants keep moving out because of unexplained cold drafts and doors and windows that slam shut of their own accord. The thought of a spectral presence interests both Meg, who is still mourning the death of her younger sister, and the information seeker, the attractive (and recently bereaved) Ellis Williams. Could this common interest lead to romance? Meg is of two minds, her intellect says no, but her emotions disagree. Besides, she is worried about finding a new apartment; there is no reason for her to indulge herself in a crush on a stranger from Chicago.

Intertwined with Meg’s story in present day Brooklyn is the harrowing tale an African American girl fleeing the destruction of her orphanage in Manhattan following the 1863 draft riot. Between the two tales are glimpses0 of the two boroughs, past and present and the effects of race, gentrification, destruction and renewal, and the hint of an invisible cloud of witnesses meditating on the changes in their home. It’s a fascinating read. ( )