My best friend warned me that it was too soon to marry Edward, a widower with an adorable but troubled little boy. She said we were moving too fast. But all I could see was a kind, loving man, struggling with grief, who needed my help. Yet as storm clouds gather above our small wedding ceremony, my hopes and dreams fall apart. None of my husband’s family turns up to support us. Instead of a honeymoon, we have a quiet night in. My wedding bouquet is placed on his first wife’s grave. And then my new stepson tells me he’s sure his mother is still alive.

Newly married Natasha has the perfect house, a loving husband, and a beautiful little girl called Emily. She’d have it all if it wasn’t for Jen, her husband’s ex-wife who just won’t leave them alone. Then Natasha returns home one day to find her husband and Emily gone without trace. Desperate to get her daughter back, Natasha will do anything even if it means accepting an offer of help from Jen.

There are two sides to every secret. When her beloved father dies, Josie is devastated to uncover a secret life he has led with another family: another house, another woman, and a half sister, Valentina. Born in the same week, in the same hospital, they look so physically alike they could be mistaken for twins. But the similarities end there.... Josie is sweet and reserved, a counsellor with the perfect boyfriend and the perfect life. Valentina is damaged and reckless, and she always gets what she wants.

When I first set eyes on Westhill House with its breathtaking views of the sea, I knew Jack and I could make this our forever home. It may be falling apart with an overgrown garden, but we can repair this beautiful building and perhaps our relationship, too. But the more time I spend renovating our new house, the more time Jack is spending at work. At least Lori's here to keep me company. She has her own troubles, yet she always listens to mine. She’s helping to restore the house, uncovering its secrets one by one. Lori seems to know a lot about Westhill House. The question is, why?

It is Erin’s 40th birthday party. Pink and silver balloons drift through her garden, the platters of food are empty and the recycling is overflowing with empty wine bottles. Erin mingles with groups of family and friends, surrounded by love and laughter. Then a little red envelope lands on the doormat and everything changes. Inside is a birthday card from somebody she never dreamed would get in touch. Its message is a chilling reminder of the dark past that Erin has worked so hard to bury, a past that could put her precious family in terrible danger....

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.

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.

Katelyn smiles around at her husband and friends, gathered to celebrate her 36th birthday in their beautiful home decorated with fairy lights. But the next day Katelyn wakes up shaken and terrified in a hospital bed. She doesn’t remember the sweet taste of birthday cake icing, or how angry her best friend was at midnight, or the terrible things her husband said. She doesn’t remember the party at all. When she asks her husband what happened the night of the party he says "nothing". But her blood runs cold at the way his voice lilts slightly. The way it always does when he is lying.

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?

Gemma Ballantine is getting ready for work one morning when her eldest child comes running down the stairs saying the words every mother dreads. The front door is open. And her six-year-old daughter has disappeared. Frantic with fear, Gemma starts a nail-biting search for her little girl. After what feels like forever, her mother-in-law, Diane, finds Katie wandering lost a few streets away. Relieved to have her youngest child back in her arms, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair, Gemma thinks the nightmare is over. But then her perfect family starts to fall apart....

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.

When Louisa Sullivan takes her little boy to his first playdate at a new friend’s house, she doesn’t realize life is about to change for her family. Because she’s about to meet Darcy Lane. Darcy is a woman who has everything—a dream house, a powerful husband, and enviable wealth. She’s the perfect wife. The perfect friend. The perfect liar.

"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. 

Faye Townsend has planned the perfect summer trip for her family. But returning to the small seaside town her husband grew up in does not go to plan - the rain pours, and the long days become stifling. And then the unthinkable happens.... Her husband, Jake, and her six-year-old son, Dylan, go for an early morning walk along the beautiful, windswept clifftops. They don’t come back.

The white-washed Italian villa is perfect. I thought it might feel odd, living in a stranger’s house for the summer, but as my husband and children swim in the infinity pool, I start to relax. And then, in the back of a wardrobe, I find something that shatters everything.... Sparkling green eyes, square jaw, lopsided smile. A young man with his arm around a beautiful woman. The picture is old and faded, but I’d recognize him anywhere. The man is my husband.