Zoe didn't meet her daughter the way most mothers do. She finds five-year-old Maddie alone and dirty on a countryside road. Frightened for Maddie's safety, she picks her up and takes her back to her father, not knowing what she's about to step into. Because Maddie wasn't just lost; she was there to lure her serial killer dad's new victim. After escaping from the clutches of Maddie's dangerous father, she bonds with the little girl. Only Maddie knows what it was like to be at that house. And when no family members come forward to claim Maddie, Zoe decides to adopt her. 

Ten years ago, the Harper family disappeared. Their deserted cottage was left with the water running, the television playing cartoons, the oven ready for baking. The doors were locked from the inside. Overnight, the sleepy village of Nighbrook became notorious as the scene of the unsolved mystery of the decade, an epicentre for ghoulish media speculation. For crime journalist Naomi, solving the case has turned into an obsession. So now, with Ivy Cottage finally listed for sale, it’s her chance to mount an investigation like no other.

Kate has always dreamed of a life in music. And now she's finally done something about it–giving up her steady job, moving to the city to enrol in a degree program at a prestigious college. Needing a place to live, she answers an ad and moves in with Amy who seems a nice lady–mothering and protective. At first Kate is glad to have some support in this strange city, but gradually Amy's presence becomes more and more stifling–it just seems so hard to get away from her. 

Eve wanted nothing more than to be a mother. She and her husband, Aidan, planned to have a family, but with each devastating miscarriage her hopes dwindled. When she eventually gave birth to her daughter, Kayla, it should have been the happiest time of her life. Instead, it was a waking nightmare for Eve and one she was desperate to escape. Now, Eve has left all that behind. She pretends that she never had a child and keeps her secrets close. But someone knows the truth. They know that Eve told a lie, and the clock is ticking before her shocking decision is revealed. 

The day my path crossed with Simon Fox I thought I’d already lost everything, but then he almost ran me off the road with his flash car and belittling jibes. The men in my life had undermined me for too long. Enough was enough. Fuelled by alcohol and the desire to get even, I decided a spot of petty vandalism would make me feel a whole lot better. Wrong. Very wrong. I hadn’t realised that Simon Fox was not a man to be messed with.