Secrets and revenge chase each other through the years in this tale set in England, moving between modern times and various points during the 20th century, especially the second world war. A mother and daughter never speak of the poisonous tragedy that enfolds their family.

The crime witnessed by young Laurel in the 1960s - a murder - has its roots in wartime and her mother's friendships. In 2011 her mother Dorothy lies dying and Laurel doesn't know whether to speak about the crime or just stay safe in her own acting environment. THE SECRET KEEPER could refer to Laurel or her mother. As she and her sister sort through her mother's things occasionally Laurel glimpses the past, and reports of a man called Henry Jenkins.

For another woman, the past was a bitter time. Dolly works as companion to an elderly lady in 1940, swallowing her pride, assuming that she would be well provided for in that lady's will. When her mistress chokes to death all Dolly is left is a few coats, and Dolly knows who to blame... a young woman called Vivien. The two tales overlap due to Vivien marrying Henry Jenkins, whom Laurel obsessively traces by records in modern day before she tells her younger brother Gerald some of the story.

Gentle rural England contrasts with rough wartime London, when people frightened out of their minds by the Blitz did strange things and everyone's lives were altered. Kate Morton recreates her settings with care and piles tensions and responsibilities on her characters, not least the responsibility of keeping a secret that a child should not have to keep. Those who enjoy researching family trees or old scrapbooks and photo albums may potter around in THE SECRET KEEPER to their heart's content.