Grady Rodriguez, a Miami police detective of 20 years, and
his partner, Naomi, are called in to investigate the date
rape of Lauren, a college student. The suspect, Evan
Carter, comes from a good, middle-upper class family and is
a super-jock on the college football team who is a prime
choice as an NFL candidate. Because of Evan's impeccable
school record as a straight-A student and his perfect
actions, Grady knows he'll have a hard time proving Evan's
guilt.
Evan, his mother, Marcie, and his younger sister, Caitlyn,
have become close friends with their neighbors since moving
into their dream home 10 years ago. His father, Ken, is an
aggressive man who treats Marcie with no respect. Marcie
and neighbor Emily Dobbs have become more like family than
friends with an extremely close relationship, and Emily's
son and daughter, Josh and Dani, are good friends with Evan
and Caitlyn.
As Grady interviews the Dobbs family and Evan's friends, it
becomes obvious that Emily and her divorced husband, Derek,
think Ken's influence on Evan has been a bad one, but they
refuse to believe Evan could have committed rape. When
further investigation uncovers more surprises, their
relationship is put to the test.
Sherryl Woods has written an excellent story that
brings out the courage of two women, who genuinely love and
respect each other after forming a bond over a 10-year
period of closeness. When a horrifying situation occurs
that every woman fears could happen to one of their own,
only the closeness of true friends can overcome the tragedy.
Two families... bound by friendship... devastated
by secrets
For ten years Emily Dobbs and Marcie Carter have been the
closest of friends. They've raised their kids together,
shared joy and heartache, exchanged neighborhood gossip over
tea. But when Marcie's son, now a college freshman sports
star, is arrested for date rape, the bond between the
families could be shattered forever.
As the Carters try to deal with the unthinkable, Emily
discovers her daughter has been hiding a terrible secret...a
secret that threatens the futures of both families. Recently
divorced, Emily struggles to keep it all together--to
support her terrified daughter, to maintain her friendship with
Evan's mother and to have faith in the detective who could
change all of their lives.
When things seem darkest, both she and Marcie discover that
sometimes the first step toward a better future is mending
fences with the past.