Dead above ground

"For feisty young Lita Du Champ, New Orleans is a place dominated by her prosperous, hardworking family - in particular, her strong-willed mother, Helen, who rules with an unshakable sense of propriety. It is also where Lita struggles to reconcile her loyalty to her mother with love for her restless, married sister Adele - and tries to establish a life of her own in the face of crushing family responsibility.".

"But neither she nor Mama Du Champ are prepared when Adele falls in love with Lucien Faure, a smooth operator with "the devil's good looks" - and a decades-old score to settle with Helen. As Lucien's revenge is set into terrible motion against all of the Du Champs, Lita uncovers her mother's mysterious past and the dark secrets that drive her: Lucien could possibly be Adele's father."--BOOK JACKET.