"A powerful and thought-provoking story that is impossible to put
down." --Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The
Four Winds and The Nightingale
A reformist teacher. A dangerous student clique. A powerful novel
about secrets and redemption set in the shadows of McCarthy-era
America.
Rosemary Chivers is haunted by the choices she made as a teenager--and
by those made for her by a controlling mother. Now, in the Cold War era
of conformity and suspicion, Rosemary is a modern new teacher at a
school for troubled girls, where she challenges the narrow curriculum
meant to tame restless young minds. She also keeps a devastating secret.
She knows one of the students is the child she gave up. But which one?
Ignoring warnings, Rosemary forms an impenetrable bond with the three
girls who are the right age: shrewd runaway Maisie, alcohol-indulging
Sandra, and overly flirtatious Jean. But these are no ordinary girls,
and what begins as an effort to bring closure to her own rebellious
youth soon spirals dangerously out of control.
Rosemary is prepared to do anything to find her daughter. What she isn't
prepared for are the deadly consequences that come with discovery--or
just how wicked wayward girls can be.
