Heather’s beloved daughter, Kayla, is her world. She is 15, a brilliant basketball player and a fierce friend. Heather and Kayla have always had a special relationship. For so many years it was just the two of them, watching Friends, baking cupcakes and laughing together. But now Kayla knows her time is short, and she wants to give something back to the mother she loves more than anyone else in the world. A gift that will change Heather’s life.  

I’ve lived on this quiet street for years, in the same house I once shared with my husband and our beloved daughter, Chloe. Now they’re both gone and my home, that used to be filled with laughter, is too quiet, too still. When a little boy I don’t recognize knocks at my door, without a parent in sight, I’m shocked. He trembles with nerves, and I tell him I can help find his mother. But I’m not prepared for what he says next. I’m left frozen, heart pounding in my chest.

In this inspiring and deeply moving story of love, courage and endurance, a young woman on the run from the law sets off on a desperate journey of survival on the treacherous Oregon Trail. Terrified she’s wanted for the murder of her landlord, Grace is certain that, even though she acted in self-defense, no one will believe her. Quickly packing the few belongings she and her little brother Tom possess, they race to join the line of dusty wagons preparing to leave for Oregon.

The only people who’ve been inside our house are the ones I thought I could trust. Someone close is watching me, speaking to Olivia and trying to make me look like a bad parent. I don’t care what my husband says. I’m more scared than I’ve ever been in my life, but my precious child means everything to me. They have no idea how far I’ll go to protect my daughter…

Widowed single dad Ron pulls up to his daughter's school in his beat-up Volvo, and feels his heart deflating. He knows Jennifer will be upset he didn't get the promotion he worked so hard for. But Jennifer isn't there. As Ron frantically searches the entire school, the minutes turning into hours, he finds himself living every parent's worst nightmare... his child has been taken.

I tell myself that Max couldn’t kill anyone. He’s a family man now, different to who he was before. Even so, I should go to the police right away. But I can’t. Because if I do, I’m scared they’ll start to suspect me. How much do I really know about the girl in room 12? And if the truth comes out, how far will I go to protect my precious family?

I’ll do anything to keep my daughter. But so will my husband… As I look across the courtroom at the man I once shared everything with, I can’t believe it’s come to this. I can see in his eyes: he is here to destroy me. But I can’t let him have our little girl. We swore to keep our divorce civil, for Lola. We agreed to put her first and keep her safe. Then the lawyers got involved, and all our promises went up in smoke.

Phoebe Spencer left home a long time ago, desperate to get away from her mother's emotional manipulation. She knows her life is better away from her family, but she can’t help feeling she’s simply running away from her problems… Then Phoebe hears that her younger sister Lucy has disappeared, leaving behind her four-year old daughter, Darcy. Phoebe's certain Lucy will be back soon - she'd never leave Darcy alone - and then Phoebe can get on with her life again.

Detective Sam Helsdown hasn’t seen his daughter Zoe in two years and he’s excited and more than a little nervous to be at the airport picking her up for a visit. She’s 10 years old and has flown on her own for the first time. Flight BA631 from Athens has already landed and soon a trickle of people begins entering Arrivals. Among them is a little girl who runs towards him, head down, and throws herself into his arms saying ‘Daddy!’. But then he looks at her properly. This is not Zoe. This is not his daughter.

A bright and welcoming haven, the playgroup sits at the heart of the town, tucked away inside a red-brick building. The Nest should have been the safest place for my rosy-cheeked, pink-obsessed daughter, Florence. Run by mothers like me, I trusted my newfound friends–Alice, Beth and Georgie–to take care of my child. But now my choice has left Florence fighting for her life.

Everyone knows about the fight between Kathleen Walsh and her sister on the night she disappeared. For six months, no one has heard from Kathleen. Not her bullying husband, not her teenage son, and not her devastated sister Siobhan. But then Kathleen’s purse is found by a walker high up on the rocky Irish sea cliffs. The only thing inside is a torn scrap of paper with the words ‘HELP ME’. For Siobhan, it’s a chance to find her sister and fix the mistake she made six months ago. But not everyone in the tight-knit community welcomes Siobhan’s interest in the disappearance.

Missouri, February 1874: The last thing struggling homesteader Ginny needs is a scandal on her hands. But when a badly injured drifter arrives at Snow Farm in desperate need of medical attention, Ginny’s kind nature and good upbringing means she has no choice but to treat his wounds and care for him until he’s back on his feet, no matter the danger he might pose.

My heart pounds as I take in the headline: ‘Missing girl believed kidnapped’. Underneath is a photo of my beautiful daughter Mia, her gap-toothed grin unmistakable. But Mia is safe beside me, snuggled up on the sofa. Who has taken a photo of her, and put it on the news? And what message are they trying to send me…? I run to the window of our little house–the cosy, homely place my husband Mark and I bought so Mia could have everything I didn’t as a child–and pull the curtains tightly shut, hiding us from sight as terror courses through my body.

Everything my husband and I have always dreamt of has finally come true. Our new home with its open-plan kitchen and marble countertops couldn’t be further from the small, damp flat where we lived only months ago. I’d hoped this would be our fresh start, an escape from my past, but the handwritten note that arrived on our doorstep makes my blood run cold – you don’t deserve this life.

Sharon Stevenson is a forensic psychiatrist. Her job is to decide whether a patient is of sound enough mind to stand trial, not whether they did or didn’t commit a crime. But Sharon is also a mother grieving the disappearance of her seventeen-year-old daughter, Maddie, who has never been found. And what if the man sitting before her, who has been charged with the murders of several women, also claimed the life of her sweet girl? It’s time to find out the truth.