Gabrielle and her three children are attacked by a knife-wielding man on a deserted country lane. The young man stabs and kills the woman and her two children. Luckily, one of the three children, Joanna, escapes. Thirty years after the incident, Joanna has become a doctor. She is married to Neil Hunter and together they are blessed with a child. Joanna is visited by a police detective called Louise to inform her that Andre Decker has been released from prison. Andrew Decker is the man who killed Joanna’s mother and her siblings. Joanna has hired a housemaid named Reggie to take care of her child.
Reggie is an orphaned young girl who perceives Joanna as an ideal mother. The story also features Jackson Brodie, a private detective looking for a DNA test of a certain boy whom he believes is his. Jackson and Louise used to work at the same station. During that time, the two were flirting. Meanwhile, Joanna is kidnapped but manages to overpower and kill her kidnappers. Conversely, Jackson causes an accident and finds himself in a hospital with Decker’s identity card. Later, Andrew Decker commits suicide inside Jackson’s house.
Joanna seems troubled and trying to get over her harrowing past. However, she has perfected the art of survival. The author has included the majority of the characters with similar backgrounds. Many coincidences are witnessed in the book. The characters’ traumatic past continues to be revealed in a clever manner by the author. The story shows how past choices may have enduring consequences.
