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.

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.

The bright yellow walls of the maternity ward are plastered with images of perfect families. Stroking my bump, I can’t stop tears from falling down my cheeks. I know I made the best choice for my baby girl, but surrounded by happy-looking couples, I’m desperately aware I’m about to give birth all alone. But when my midwife, Jackie, introduces herself, I relax. She holds my trembling hand and reassures me with her warmth. I know she’s here to help.

Alice and Seth are a perfect love story: the handsome doctor and his beautiful fiancée. They’re wealthy, well liked and made for each other—the envy of all their friends. Alice can’t wait for the day of their dream wedding. But when she arrives at the altar, she doesn’t recognise the man waiting to marry her. When this stranger insists he’s Seth, her husband-to-be, the entire congregation seems to agree. Even her parents try to persuade Alice to go through with the wedding.

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.

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.

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?

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?

"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. 

With its peeling wallpaper and overgrown garden, I know our new home isn’t perfect. But my husband, Ben, promises it’s the fresh start we need. I remind myself that he’s an amazing father to our two children and that we have years of happy marriage behind us. He’s been distant for months, but I’m desperate to believe the move will bring us back together.

Elizabeth is Joe’s foster mother, but she loves him like her own. The five-year-old, who adores superheroes and watching the birds outside, is the child she has dreamed of. As she looks into the garden, where he was playing just moments ago, her heart feels like it has been ripped from her chest. She was meant to save Joe from his birth mother who almost harmed his chances at life. The woman who has been trying to desperately get him back. She was meant to protect Joe from her husband. The man who, right now, lies to the police, saying he was making breakfast when Joe disappeared.

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…

Maddie and Kiara have been best friends since they met on their first day at university. They have always shared everything with each other--everything except one big secret, which Kiara knows would tear them apart…. When the police knock on Maddie’s front door as she and husband Nick are getting ready for the morning school run, she’s not expecting to hear what they have to tell her. Kiara is dead.

When I first walked into Jake and Megan’s immaculate home, I felt totally at ease. Sitting in the crisp white living room, they held hands and talked lovingly about their baby girl, Fern. As the weeks passed, I began to think I’d made a mistake in taking the job. Jake was overly friendly from the start, watching my every move and always offering to drop me home, even though it was out of his way. And Megan seemed to take pleasure in telling me off in front of her husband, blaming me for things I hadn’t done.