Kate Whittier has it all--a loving, even-keeled husband, two great kids, and a beautiful home in Southern California. But Kate is living a lie. In a desperate attempt to create for her children the safe, happy family she never had, she has been hiding dark secrets for decades--things she's convinced make her unworthy of her wellborn husband, Jacob, and the privileged life he has provided. Then, one ordinary evening, always dependable Jacob confesses to a drunken sexual indiscretion he doesn't quite remember, and Kate cracks open. Molten memories rise to the surface: hiding in the dark, her brother's whisper in her ear; crying out, knowing no one will hear. Along with the memories, volatile emotions swirl--a sign, Kate fears, that the mental illness that took her mother has finally come for her. Stepping in to support Kate and Jacob as their lives unravel is the guy who introduced them: Ryan McCann, a peripatetic journalist who has recently settled nearby to write his first novel. Ryan was with Jacob on the night of the indiscretion. Ryan is with Kate when Jacob leaves. And when Kate's malevolent older brother calls with news of her father's imminent death, it is Ryan who accompanies her as she journeys back to her childhood home looking for closure. Instead, as the past invades the present and relationships collide, Kate discovers complicated truths that could mean redemption--or destroy her entire world.