Behind closed doors I try to relax, to unwind in the huge clawfoot bath and forget about my complicated past. It’s hard being the new couple on the street when you’ve got secrets. Because the truth is, my charming husband isn’t really my husband. And I’m not Stephanie Hamlin....

Her chest tightens, her heart speeding up. The kitchen is chaos. She steps on something hard, and looks down. Toy dinosaurs are scattered everywhere. But her son is nowhere–her baby boy is gone.

Last night, we celebrated our anniversary. Over candlelight, we talked about the children, our work, and I was so happy, and felt so loved. But the next morning, when I check my phone, there is a message. From a friend. And a string of photos appear of my husband, Will, with another woman: walking along the street holding hands. Going into fancy hotels. Standing at a window, his arms around her, her head on his shoulder…

Melody gazes across the rippling lake to the trees on the shore, waiting for her fiancé Evan to arrive so their family holiday can begin. Here in this cabin in a small Canadian island town, there’s so much space for their son to play. It’s going to be perfect–just like the first time Melody visited as a child. But then, a call from Evan shatters her world.

It’s hard meeting your ex after so much time apart. You remember the tears and accusations, the desperate look on his face as he punched the wall, but you try not to show it. You smile politely, even while your heart beats faster. You watch as he looks down into the stroller, at the beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed baby kicking his little legs in the sunshine, whose innocent smile lights up your world. You see his face change. You know what he’s thinking. The next day he calls. His voice is shaking. He wants the truth. Is it his child?

Hannah Parker is a woman who always gets what she wants. When her current husband discovers she has been lying to him – again - she knows it’s time to move on and find someone who can give her the life she desires… The life she knows she deserves. But who will be the lucky man? When her eye catches a glimpse of an old flame in a photograph, she’s sure it’s a sign.

"There’s someone I want you to meet," Belle says, as a man draws up to her side. He’s tall with dark hair and stubble on his square jaw. He’s not exactly smiling, but the corner of his mouth curls upwards as he slides his hand around my daughter’s waist. 

My husband cheated on me. It still hurts, but I’m trying to forgive him for the sake of our kids. I need this break, away from it all, with my girlfriends from my wild swimming group. They’ve been my lifeline these past months. But on the way up to Scotland, my husband calls me with a shocking confession. His mistress is on the trip. He won’t tell me which of my friends she is. And as the candlelight flickers on the walls of our remote hideaway, I watch my friends closely as they sip their wine and laugh. Someone is hiding something. I need to know who.

From the moment I meet my new mother-in-law in her beautiful country house, she makes it clear I’m not welcome. Lilian Fletcher hates me for marrying her precious boy on a golden beach far away from her. Starting our marriage living in the Fletchers’ family home is a nightmare. Then I discover Seb was married before and his first wife is dead. I wonder why the man I love didn’t tell me the truth. And I wonder what happened to her: the woman who came before me. How did she die?

From the moment I saw Ann, I knew she was perfect for me. Her beauty and her social connections would make my miserable life so much better. It didn’t matter that I didn’t love her. I would give her the lifestyle she craved, and she would give me the life I deserved. But soon my marriage vows were a noose around my neck. I longed to escape my beautiful, horrible wife. And then I saw her and I knew there was only one way out.

A perfect mother. A loving daughter. A secret that could destroy them both. When I walk into my small family home after a long day at work, I find my mother in the living room, playing happily with my precious baby son, and my heart begins to race.

Leigh Simons can’t say for sure what made her do it. A moment of madness, perhaps, but when the young, loud and gorgeous waitress at her favorite coffee shop reveals she is homeless, Leigh offers her the empty room in her house. Gina is the perfect lodger; Leigh, lonely and frustrated with her life, becomes infatuated with the woman—her boldness, her zeal. If only Leigh could be more like Gina. So when Leigh returns from a work trip she’s shocked to find Gina missing. Where could the young woman have gone...and why?

Jake and I were childhood sweethearts. Strong, dependable, and with a smile that melts my heart, he is the perfect husband and father to our beautiful little daughter. We have our money troubles–but getting a lodger, Kara, calms the panic I feel about our bills. Jake is reluctant but what choice do we have?

The doorbell rings, just days after my beloved husband’s sudden death. I don’t recognise the woman on our doorstep, with her blonde highlights, a diamond bracelet identical to my own and a bouncing baby boy in her arms. As I show her inside, I notice her eyes grow wide as she takes in our spacious hallway, and the big squashy sofas that we all used to pile on. She glances at the silver-framed family photos and my little daughter hiding behind my skirts. She looks at me, her blue eyes serious. ‘I’m sorry’ she says. ‘I am your husband’s girlfriend. And this is his son.'

My mother is obsessed with every detail of my wedding–controlling my dress, my ring, my happiness. But when the day finally comes, will she really let me go?