Sarah Laden has a popular catering business, two boys to raise, and a hole in her heart still healing from the death of her husband two years ago. 17-year-old Nate is a rebellious hellion, and 11-year-old Danny has problems of his own. Sarah has her hands full and her best friend and neighbor, Courtney Kendrick, helped her through the hardest parts of mourning and there every time Sarah needs her. Courtney's son, Jordan, is Danny's classmate and best friend and Courtney's husband is the boys' soccer coach. Life is perfect in Oakhaven, Ohio. Perfect yards, perfect neighbors with perfect children. No crime, police response time of 2 minutes, and the snow is plowed immediately.

Sarah finds Jordan walking in the rain on the way to school. The child is late for class, soaked to the bone from the storm. Not only is he wet, but he's got a high fever. She questions why Courtney, a popular obstetrician, would leave her son home alone and ill, but she drives Jordan to school. On the way, Jordan feels sick and asks her to pull over at the nearest place...a closed gas station, with a port-a-potty outside. Jordan goes in, but he doesn't come out...not the same child that went in, at least. Sarah finds him on the floor with a needle in his neck.

Sarah's world is further rocked on its foundation when Courtney is arrested in a child sex abuse scandal, and the husband is on the run from the cops. The couple is not what they seemed to be, and Jordan has been living in a nightmare of pedophile sex parties complete with videotapes and photographs...CD's Jordan had stolen and stashed in his backpack. As the story unfolds, Sarah finds out she had even catered for these parties.

Each chapter is devoted to one character's involvement, in alternating fashion. Danny, Jordan, Sarah, and Nate uncover the horrible circumstances of Jordan's life in the Kendrick houshold and come to terms with everything they thought they knew...everything they are capable of when they take in Jordan as a foster child.

I thought I would pick this up and read just one chapter, to get a feel for Kittle's style and characters. One chapter turned to two and three until I could not put it down until I finished it well after midnight. It's as upsetting as it is compelling...probably be the most disturbing book I'll read this year. It's a little melodramatic when the investigating detective -- and Sarah's love interest -- intones statistics at a community meeting, but it never invades on the pace of the story and it's necessary to understand the situation. Child sex abuse is never anything other than disturbing, but Kittle has given the subject a fine turn.