Brooke O’Connor—elegant, self-possessed, and kind—has a happy marriage and a deeply loved young daughter. So her adamant refusal to have a second child confounds her husband, Sean. When Brooke’s high school boyfriend Alex—now divorced and mourning the death of his young son—unexpectedly resurfaces, Sean begins to suspect an affair.
For fifteen years Brooke has kept a shameful secret from everyone she loves. Only Alex knows the truth that drove them apart. His reappearance now threatens the life she has so carefully constructed and fortified by denial. With her marriage—and her emotional equilibrium—at stake, Brooke must confront what she has been unwilling to face for so long.
But the truth is not what Brooke believes it to be.
Lucy Ferriss’s haunting novel reveals the profound ways in which remorse over the past can not only derail lives but also—sometimes—redeem them. “From its harrowing prologue to its final sentences, I was emotionally engaged.” — Wally Lamb

"One of the best writers around." — Oscar Hijuelos

“A complex, engaging novel about guilt, secrecy, and the mysteries of family…a courageous and thought-provoking writer.” — Tom Perotta

"A tension-filled, beautifully written story." — Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, author of Girls of a Tender Age

"A moving tale of sin and redeptmion, motherhood and second chances." — Eric Goodman, author of Child of My Right Hand