Alexandra and her sister and cousin are going to the Italian countryside to get away. Alexandra is in debt, Lilibet is escaping her abusive spouse. Finn and his nephews (I think that's right) are escaping for some quiet reflective time and for Finn to ready his automobile/battery (excuse me, horseless carriage). They both rent the same castle, unbeknownst to each other. However, since it's large, they opt to stay there on different sides/wings.
Alexandra was a hard person to like. I thought she was snobby, abrasive. I couldn't quite get what Finn saw in her. She does improve throughout the book, but sometimes it is hard to get over initial opinions/impressions. I did like Finn. The best part was reading about Finn's development of his automobile/battery and reading about the various methods being tested (battery, steam, internal combustion engine).
There is mention of a curse involving the castle and towards the end of the book, it's thrown out there that one of the female and one of the male servants may not exist. I could have done without this as it didn't add anything to the plot. The other secondary characters (Lilibet, Abigail, Roland, Wallingford) didn't really stand out to me. I find I really don't have an interest in their stories (which all take place at the same time).

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