This is the first book in the Seven Sisters series, with each novel focusing on a different sister and her journey of personal discovery. The overarching story explores their shared mystery and their enigmatic adoptive father, Pa Salt.

The inspiration for the series is tied to the mythology of the Pleiades constellation, also known as the Seven Sisters constellation. In Greek mythology, the Pleiades are nymphs as well as partners and mothers to many significant figures. Maia, for example, is the messenger god Hermes’ mother, while Zeus, the king of the gods, is Hermes’ father. Author Lucinda Riley observed that she was inspired by these stories because

each one of the mythological sisters was, according to their legends, a unique and strong female. Some say they were the Seven Mothers who seeded our earth—there is no doubt that, in their stories, they were all highly fertile!—and had many children with the various Gods who were fascinated by their strength, beauty and ethereal air of mysticism (“The Seven Sisters Series.” Lucinda Riley).

These themes are echoed in this first book in the series, which is deeply interested in the role of motherhood, romantic relationships, and the strength of the two female protagonists.

The Seven Sisters series contains eight books. The next five books in the series are each dedicated to another of the sisters’ stories. Book seven in the series is titled The Missing Sister and describes the sisters’ search for their seventh sister. The eighth book in the series tells the story of Pa Salt, whose origin story features, briefly and in partial form, in this novel.