Ali turned towards the cottage, anger flooding through her. She’d believed she and Meg were friends; that they’d bonded over a vision of motherhood...a world where your baby deserved everything you could give it. She’d pulled Meg’s words - Meg’s life - around her, like a comfort blanket. But that shared vision had never existed. And Ali was alone now, with nothing to protect her. 

Ruth has spent every day of the last 15 years wondering why her daughter Isobel left. Walking around the school to which she has given her life, every child she sees reminds her of her family’s bright future, which vanished in an instant. So when Ruth opens the door to find Isobel and a teenage grandson she never knew existed, she feels a rush of relief. Despite the years of hurt she never stopped loving Isobel and wants to help rebuild her life. Enrolling her grandson at the school, Ruth wants to make sure they stay for good.

The call came on a seemingly ordinary day. But as soon as Rachel heard the pain in her sister’s voice, she had to face the fact that life as she knew it was about to be shattered: “It’s mum. She’s not well. She doesn’t have much time.” Though her heart breaks to leave her husband and children behind, Rachel knows the right thing is to return home to care for her mother, Janet. Their relationship has been strained for years. This may be the last chance for them both to heal.

I glance over at Lou’s house as I pull onto my drive, surprised that it is still in darkness. Lou and the kids should have been home from school long ago. I should be preparing a delicious meal for my children as they tell me about their day. But Lou’s car is nowhere to be seen....

Will I have the chance to explain to little Erin why I had to go? Even if I do find the strength to return, what will my mother have told her? Only one person really knows what happened and why I had to do what I did. I know the truth will come out some day. I don’t expect forgiveness. The only thing I hope is that my family can survive the fallout....

There are two little girls in the photo. I instantly recognize myself as the small, dark-haired child in the purple dress. But who is the girl with the long, blonde hair laughing at the camera? And why is the photograph here, in a stranger’s house? When I find the tattered picture hidden away at the back of a dusty cupboard in Amy’s house, my mouth goes dry with shock. Though I haven’t known Amy for very long, I love looking after her young children, in her picture-perfect hilltop house with its sprawling wildflower garden and bright, airy kitchen. 

Anna works two jobs to get herself through college and never, ever talks about her family. It’s easier to keep her distance from everyone until she can finally leave her old life behind. That is, until chance throws her together with Gabe....

Cate grips the note with trembling hands, looking down at the delicate bundle on her doorstep. As she reaches down to the baby, she knows she has finally got everything she’s ever wished for. But is he hers to take? Cate tries not to cry as she closes the door on the nursery room once again. All she has ever wanted is to be a mother. Cursed with a medical condition that means she is unable to have children, her only option is to wait for a call from the adoption center. But that call feels like a lifetime away.

The last time Megan saw her youngest daughter, Emma, was on the little girl’s third birthday. Now, two years later, she sees her daughter’s face in every blonde girl she passes - at the grocery store, in car windows, at the doctor’s office. She is determined to find her daughter, but her commitment borders on obsession as she finds herself following these little girls who resemble her missing daughter. Her inability to move on after Emma’s kidnapping has distanced Megan from her friends and family.

When I found out I was pregnant, I couldn’t have been happier. Ever since my own father died, I’d felt utterly lost. But you changed everything. Finally, I had found my purpose: to be the best mother I could be. But I couldn’t–wouldn’t–tell anyone who your father was. I could never forget the look in his eyes that day. The betrayal written across his face. All the things we didn’t say and the secret that tore us apart.

When the call finally comes, my life as I know it is over—my job as a teacher, my marriage, my family are all gone. In a heartbeat, I’ve lost everything that ever mattered to me. All because of one secret and what someone thinks she saw....

At first glance Emma and Lucie seem very different, but they share an unspeakable vice. Beautiful, wealthy Emma appears to have it all with a loving husband and a seemingly successful life, but a restless craving has driven her to foolish actions. Meanwhile, young widow Lucie is struggling to make ends meet while coping with a troubled five-year-old.

No matter what life throws at me, I have always been able to depend on my best friend Rachel. In nineteen years of friendship, we’ve never argued or fallen out. So, I’m wracked by guilt over my decision to keep her daughter Chloe’s pregnancy a secret. I don’t want to break Chloe’s trust but, if I don’t say anything, it could destroy my relationship with Rachel. I hoped Chloe would find the confidence to tell her mom, but days have passed, and the guilt is eating me alive. As much as I want to support Chloe, I don’t know how much longer l can lie to my best friend.

When I first met you, darling Marina, you were just five years old. You took my breath away, with your long, dark waves and pink cheeks. You needed me, and I instantly knew I’d do anything to protect you. When six years ago, my heart was shattered, I was left utterly broken – but I didn’t know just how lost I was until you filled that hole in my heart. You quickly became the centre of my world, your sweet laugh my favourite sound. But then things started to change... I put my pain down to work stress, but when the diagnosis came through it was worse than I could ever have imagined.

With kids to look after, an ailing mother and a neglected husband, life is full for Emma Fountain—too full, she realises, when she wakes up in IKEA after falling asleep in one of the show beds. Only her crazy, funny best friend Roz keeps her sane. But when Roz climbs in through her bathroom window one day to deliver terrible news, Emma’s belief that she can find a way around any obstacle crumbles in the face of a problem she just can’t fix.