Years ago, Beth Lathrop and her sister suffered through the kidnapping of their mother and the theft of a famous painting. Detective Conor Reid swore to protect them from then on. When the same family painting is stolen again and Beth is murdered, Beth's husband comes under suspicion and Reid vows to solve the crime.

Sister Bernadette Ignatius (the former Bernie Sullivan), Mother Superior at the coastal Connecticut Star of the Sea Academy, travels to Dublin with Tom Kelly, the academy's ombudsman, seeking James, the son they gave up over 20 years ago. In a parallel narrative set up in a prologue, young James and Kathleen, raised together as orphans, are devastated when they are forced to separate when Kathleen is 13. While Bernie and Tom look for James (now calling...

Clare Burke's life took a devastating turn when she tried to protect her sister, Anne, from an abusive and controlling husband and ended up serving prison time for assault. The verdict largely hinged on Anne's defense of her spouse, all lies, and the sisters have been estranged ever since. Nearly twenty years later, Claire is living a quiet life in Manhattan as an urban birder and nature blogger, when her niece, Grit, turns up on her doorstep. The...