It is 1844 and Lacey Bishop's life is a tangled mess. Estranged from her own family, at age 16 she goes to work for a preacher and his wife. When his wife dies, the preacher convinces Lacey that the only decent thing to do is to marry him. That way she can continue to act as mother to the little girl who was left on his doorstop. But Lacey never expects he will decide to take them all off to a Shaker village.

Neglected as a toddler, Lila was rescued by a canny young drifter and together they crafted a life on the run. Despite some petty violence and moments of desperation, their life was laced with moments of joy and love. When Lila arrives in Gilead, she struggles to reconcile the life of her makeshift family and their days of hardship with the gentle Christian worldview of her husband which paradoxically judges those she loves. Lila, homeless and alone...

Eighteen months after her husband's unsolved murder, Cathy Cantrell has returned to her Alabama home, eager to build a new life for herself and her son. But pieces of her past are everywhere - including Jackson Perdue, the town's deputy sheriff. The spate of recent deaths - each victim burned in the same horrifying manner as her husband - leave Jack and Cathy in no doubt that a serial killer is at work. (Bestseller)