During the hot and humid summer of '57, Vivien Brennan's father is sent to France to protect the free world during the Cold War. Vivien lives on a remote farm in Middle Tennessee with her grandma, mother, and sister. Compared to her earlier encounter with the nurse's ghost last summer, life is idyllic. School is out and down the road from the farm, the ford of Little Duck River offers cool water. But rivers can be dangerous-even deadly.

For the second time in Vivien's life, a ghost seeks her help. But this is the specter of a Japanese girl unjustly imprisoned during WWII. The spirit never speaks. Does she want help? Does she seek transition? Resolution? Something else? Were her contemporaries-now adults-involved in her death?

In this breathtaking sequel to Herwig's award-winning The Ghost's Daughter, Vivien once again risks everything in a quest for justice and peace. But can she she conquer the forces of darkness circling around her? Read The World Ends at the River for a truly haunting experience.