THE SECRETS WE KEEP is the story of Elizabeth and Mike. He is a fireman who takes way to many risks, and she is his beloved wife who would like nothing more than to have a baby. One night, everything will change for the them.

Elizabeth is waiting at home for Mike because he takes the dog for a walk every night. When Elizabeth hears a knock at the door, she thinks Mike once again forgot his keys. But at the front door is her husband's best friend. Once again Mike has taken a risk, this time losing his life saving a girl who was drowning in the lake.

Kate is the girl he saved. She is not telling anyone what really happened. In the meantime, Elizabeth is having a very hard time. Elizabeth finds herself writing letters to Mike, her way of trying to come to grips with this tragic accident.

As the story unravels, readers learn Mike and Kate were having an affair, and Kate is pregnant. This is just destroying Elizabeth since her and Mike tried everything to have a child. What a secret to keep.

Stephanie Butland's novel is something else. One woman is trying to deal with her grief, the other woman is coming to grips with the fact that she is going to have a baby. Both women are trying to deal with grief in two different ways.

Stephanie Butland goes beyond what THE SECRETS WE KEEP is about. For example, Elizabeth writing letters to Mike. First she does so in denial of his death, and then she does it to let him know how she really feels. Kate is finally telling the truth of what happened. The storyline also shows what it is like for two women who live in a small town. THE SECRETS WE KEEP will always come out, one way or another.