In a small town, three mothers wave goodbye to their children at the school gates. Naomi has lived in Exton Cross since she was born, and she knows everything there is to know about everyone. Aleema hates it here. It’s been three years and she’s yet to make a single friend. And she’s sure the other mums whisper about her behind her back. Kelly is an outsider. New to the town, she arrives with nothing but her son—and a dark secret. By the end of the school day, one of their children will be missing. And rumours will swirl that one of them knows why.

Some truths can’t be told. I had the perfect life - a nice house, a loving husband, a beautiful little boy. But in one devastating night, they were all ripped from me. It's been 14 years, and I’m finally ready to face the past. I’m taking my son back. He just can’t know who I am...or why we were torn apart.

When Lauren takes a photo of a stranger on a beach and shares it online, she has no idea what will come of that single click. Her daughters are surprised that she posted a photo without consent, but it’s only when she starts to get anonymous messages about the woman on the beach that she deletes the photo. It’s too little too late, and the messages escalate, prompting Lauren to confess to the woman. The woman has her own dark story, one that might explain the messages, but Lauren isn’t convinced.

From the outside, it seems Grace has it all. Only she knows about the cracks in her picture-perfect life...and the huge secret behind them. After all, who can she trust? Her brother, Josh, is thousands of miles away, and he and Grace have never been close—he was always their parents’ favourite. Her best friend, Coco, walked away from her years ago; their friendship irreparably fractured by the choices they’ve made. And her husband, Marcus, seems like a different man lately. Grace can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something.

Marissa Irvine arrives at 14 Tudor Grove, expecting to pick up her young son Milo from his first playdate with a boy at his new school. But the woman who answers the door isn't a mother she recognises. She isn't the nanny. She doesn't have Milo. And so begins every parent's worst nightmare. As news of the disappearance filters through the quiet Dublin suburb and an unexpected suspect is named, whispers start to spread about the women most closely connected to the shocking event. Because only one of them may have taken Milo - but they could all be blamed.

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.

Esther is safe in the house. For 16 years, she and her mother have lived off the grid, protected from the dangers of the outside world. For 16 years, Esther has never seen another single soul. Until today. Today there’s a man outside the house. A man who knows Esther’s name, and who proves that her mother’s claims about the outside world are false. A man who is telling Esther that she’s been living a lie.

Tragedy brought them together. The truth will tear them apart. It’s supposed to be Laura’s dream holiday: a trip to France with a group of friends to see their favourite band play live. But the holiday quickly turns to disaster, and Laura is left haunted by terrifying images from the worst night of her life. When Laura finds an online support group for victims like her, she’s not convinced it will help. But then Sandrine replies to her message, and she seems to understand what Laura’s going through, in a way that no one else can.

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.

Giving away my child is the hardest decision I have ever had to make. But when I move into the Thorpes’ stunning home so they can support me through the pregnancy, it seems like they are everything I could have hoped for. They cook me delicious, healthy meals and make sure I’m getting the best medical care. They never question my background or why I am giving them my child. But before long, I begin to wonder if something is very wrong with the Thorpes.

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. 

Then: Morning light shines into the nursery, casting shadows across the pale pink walls and wooden cot in the middle of the room. She opens the door expecting to hear the soft coo of her daughter, Sofia, stretching herself awake. But the room is silent. The cot is empty. Her little girl has vanished. Now: Twelve years have passed, but Emily will never forget the night her life changed forever, and she’s happy to have her daughter back beside her. A teenager now, Sofia started asking questions about when she was a baby.

Frances Brookman has just received the phone call every mother dreads. Her daughter Naomi has been in a life-threatening accident. As she races to the hospital, Frances catches sight of a child in another car – a girl screaming for help. It's a split-second thing and looks can be deceptive. She could follow the car, but can she live with the delay getting to her daughter? If she does nothing, can she live with herself?

Be careful what you wish for. On the surface, Callie Harwell has it all. Newly married to James, she finally gets the family she has longed for and becomes a mother to his two sons. So why is she arrested for murder? Things are not as Callie hoped they would be and she struggles to be accepted as part of James' family, and to keep hidden the secrets that could destroy her future. As her life spirals out of control, setting in motion a chain of events with devastating consequences, Callie is forced to question how well we ever really know ourselves.

This holiday is the first time my husband Jeff and I have been on our own in years, and I want it to be a fresh start. We can walk along the beach, eat ice cream in the bright Spanish sun, and fall in love again.