Jeanie thinks she was to blame for the sexual assault she suffered in
college—and she’d do anything to keep her old-school Catholic family
from finding out about the resulting pregnancy, as well as what she did
to conceal it.
Years have passed since the assault, and Jeanie’s husband, Greg, still
thinks she’s the seemingly innocent girl he married in a rush to spite
his controlling mother. It’s the height of the Seattle dot-com boom, and
he’s too busy cashing in his stock options to pay attention to his
wife. He isn’t aware of Jeanie’s lingering shame and guilt, or that she
married him in the desperate hope that devoting herself to marriage and
motherhood would somehow absolve her from the sins in her past.
Their hidden agendas collide when Greg discovers evidence of Jeanie’s
long-ago pregnancy. As she confesses the details of that drunken night
with her married professor, Greg’s pristine image of her is blown. His
shock deepens into violent fury, and Jeanie realizes she needs to leave
him—but Greg won’t let her go. He’s up for a big promotion, and he’s not
about to let her ruin his reputation by walking out on him. He’ll
resort to blackmail if necessary. Or worse.