Childhood friends Hannah, Maya, Blue, and Renee share a bond that feels more like family. Growing up, they had difficult home lives, and the summers they spent together in Montauk were the happiest memories they ever made. Then, the summer after graduation, one terrible night changed everything. Twelve years have passed since that fateful incident, and their sisterhood has drifted apart, each woman haunted by her own lost innocence. But just as they reunite in Montauk for one last summer, hoping to find happiness once more, tragedy strikes again.

Georgia Grayson has perfected the art of being two people: a neurosurgeon on track to becoming the first female Director of Neurosurgery at a large London hospital, and a wife and mother. Home is her haven where, with husband Adam’s support, she copes with her occasional anxiety attacks. That is until her daughter, 15-year-old Lara, demands to know more about Danny, her mysterious biological father from New Orleans who died before she was born. 

At 22, Dan Brown came to the Bronx's P.S. 85 as an eager, fresh-faced teacher. Unbeknownst to him, his assigned class, 4-217, was the designated "dumping ground" for all fourth-grade problem cases, and his students would prove to be more challenging than he could ever anticipate. Intent on being a caring, dedicated teacher but confronted with unruly children, absent parents, and a failing administration, Dan was pushed to the limit time and again: he found himself screaming with rage, punching his fist through a blackboard out of sheer frustration, often just wanting to give up and walk away.

Nell Stillman's road is not easy. When her boorish husband dies soon after they move to the small town of Harvester, Minnesota, Nell is alone, penniless yet responsible for her beloved baby boy, Hillyard. Not an easy fate in small-town America at the beginning of the 20th century. In the face of nearly insurmountable odds, Nell finds strength in lasting friendships and in the rich inner life awakened by the novels she loves.

What kind of women do daughters become when their fathers are missing and their mothers can't love them? How do they find love and ways to love themselves? Nearly three decades of secrets lie between Lola Ashby and the two girls she reluctantly raised. Now, prompted by the one father figure she respects, older daughter Frankie agrees to drive from Portland to visit her ailing mother, who abandoned the girls when they were in high school.

On the day that her youngest child leaves home, Alice Hatton discovers two disturbing truths in a matter of hours. The Empty Nest cliché is true. And she does not love her husband Peter at all. Now in her fifties, Alice is appalled to realise that she is no longer considered her own person, but is instead defined by her relationships – mother to her adult children, wife to her husband. Horrified by the thought of spending another thirty years with Peter in their North London suburb, Alice decides to take matters into her own hands.

When 12 year-old Jared Johnson’s little sister dies, just hours after his mother breathes her last after wasting away so her children could eat, he knows he is on own. Desperate to avoid the workhouse, he does everything he can to survive the inhospitable streets of Birmingham. Jared is blessed with the gift of the gab and soon attracts the attention of the King of the Tatters, Toby McGuire. Recognising a kindred spirit, Toby soon has Jared out on a cart hustling for rags.

How much would you risk to save one child? Leslie Matthews travels to India with her husband on a business trip, never expecting it will turn her life upside-down. During a trip to the zoo, she meets Raveena, an orphan desperate for someone to save her from a harrowing fate. Leslie tries to rescue Raveena from a sordid, exploitative underworld, but powerful and brutal men hold the girl and don’t intend to let anyone take her. Leslie tumbles into a terrifying underworld of systemic abuse she knows nothing about. But she won't stop until Raveena is safe, regardless of the cost.

Walter Winslow thoroughly enjoyed his orderly and predictable life. He left for work at exactly the same time each day, ate the same thing for lunch, and returned home to revel in the comfort of a home-cooked meal and his favorite programming on the telly. Though not particularly thrilling, his life was utterly comfortable. That is, until one day when Wendy--his wife of 28 years--asked for a divorce.

With Christmas just around the corner, Molly Bliss has almost hit rock bottom. After the heart-breaking loss of her parents, an escape to Iceland to spend the holidays with her sister Claudia is a chance for her to find solace and focus on her neglected relationship with her boyfriend Howard. But when Howard 'misses' his flight, Molly is forced to rethink her whole outlook on life. Surrounded by her family, Molly has never felt more alone. With ongoing family tensions rumbling and a surprising connection with old flame, Molly realises she has an opportunity to rediscover who she really is.

Mum passed recently. It was sudden and unexpected. On the cusp of adulthood, my twin sister, Skye, and I are left with decisions to make that will change our lives forever. As identical twins, we’d normally stick together like glue, but anger and grief gets the better of us and we push and pull in different directions. At an impasse, each of us stubbornly gets our wish. Finding myself alone and without the other half of me, I’m desperately lonely. I need a friend. But, when I find that special someone, I know I’ve made a terrible mistake and trusted the wrong person.

One minute, pastry chef Tabitha Greenwood is driving through rain-soaked Dublin with her fiancé Mark, on their way to a New Year’s Eve party. The next, she is waking up in the hospital, the devastated face of her sister telling her everything she doesn’t want to know. Mark is gone. And Tabby knows that it’s her fault. Lost in her grief and haunted by memories, Tabby can’t seem to return to the woman she was. Until one day, sorting through Mark’s belongings, she finds a delicate rose-gold bracelet with an engraving that changes everything. Because this heartfelt gift isn’t for her.

Something happened to me when I was nine. My childhood memories before that fateful day are gone. Extinguished. The aftermath has become a living nightmare with a guilt that runs so deep that I’m not sure I can ever tell anyone. I fear I've left it too late. The burden of my secret and the hurt and pain that silence cost each and every member of my family is too overwhelming. But you can't avoid fate and now I have the opportunity to right the wrongs inflicted on us. There was no justice. Not then. Not now. But I can change that.

It’s 1979 and Amanda Fernsby, nineteen and inexperienced, dreams of lasting love. She leaves London with her parents to start a new life in rural Sussex, moving into Marshywood, a charming, rustic cottage. Now, surrounded by nature, she is excited to begin her new life, but there are bumps in the road ahead.

As Faith tries on her future mother-in-law’s wedding dress in preparation for her own wedding, her tears are not of joy. The hideous frock is nicknamed ‘The Ghost Web’ by Faith’s best friend Marilyn, who can’t understand why Faith would even consider wearing it. But there’s a lot Marilyn doesn’t know about Faith – not the least of which is that Faith is just the latest of the names she has called herself.