Lucy Abbott never pictured herself coming back to Fawn Grove, Maine. Yet after serving time in Afghanistan, then years spent as a sous chef in New York, she’s realized her only hope of moving on from the past involves facing it again. But when a 15-year-old Muslim girl is found murdered along the banks of the river, difficult memories of Lucy’s time overseas come flooding back and she feels an automatic connection. At first glance, the tragedy looks like an honor killing. But the more Lucy learns about her old hometown, the less certain that seems. When another teen is found dead in a cornfield, his throat slit, Lucy must confront a truth more brutal than she could have imagined, in the last place she expected it.

When Leah and her husband, Clay, move from Seattle to Maine, she envisions a vibrant new neighborhood packed with families. But while Clay works long hours, Leah is left alone each day in a nearly deserted housing development. Bored and adrift, Leah finds herself watching Clarissa and Russell Gaines next door, envying their stylishly decorated home and their university careers. But Leah’s obsession with the intriguing, elegant Clarissa grows until she’s not just spying from afar but sneaking into their house, taking small objects and reading Clarissa’s diary. It contains clues to a hidden turmoil Leah never guessed at --- and a connection to a local college girl who’s disappeared.