In this page-turning novel set in the Depression-era South, New York
Times bestselling author Mary Monroe transports readers to a small
Alabama town where home is not always a sanctuary, and two neighboring
families let pleasantries mask increasing resentment. . .
Bootlegging was Milton and Yvonne Hamilton's ticket out of poverty,
prison time, and plain bad luck. Now they've moved on--to a bigger,
richer pool of clientele--right in their own respectable new
middle-class backyard. And their growing friendship with
seemingly-perfect couple Joyce and Odell Watson is proving golden in
more ways than one . . .
As Milton soon learns, Odell is hiding an outside family and dubious
business dealings. It's the perfect recipe for a blackmail scheme that
will help Milton hide his own dirty
secrets--even from Yvonne. Better yet, he can take ever more dangerous
risks to ace out his
liquor-smuggling rivals--and add a lucrative temptation to his illicit
services. And Yvonne, emboldened by her husband's new gravy train,
delights in tormenting Joyce about everything the snobbish matron
doesn't have--especially children.
But even a winning hand can be played too far. Pushed past their limits,
Odell and Joyce will play on Milton's careless boasting--to get him and
Yvonne out of their lives for good. And soon, a devastating frame-up
will plunge one couple into a living nightmare--and set the stage for
explosive retribution . . .
