Emerald

"Phyllis Whitney is, and always will be, the Grand Master of her craft."
Barbara Michaels
Carol Hamilton is terrified of her ex-husband, a wealthy and powerful man who will stop at nothing to take their son away from her. To escape him, Carol seeks refuge at the Palm Springs home of her great-aunt, Monica Arlen, a once-celebrated movie star. While under her spell, Carol, a journalist, decides to write a book about Monica. What she doesn't realize, though, is that digging into the past is going to break open old and terrible secrets that set the stage for murder....