Two cousins are driven to extremes by the power of love, as one helps his terminally ill wife commit suicide and the other becomes involved in a passionate affair with his wife's new assistant.

Ella Reynolds, head cheerleader and part of the "in" crowd, befriends Holden Harris, an autistic boy who is bullied at school, and takes on the popular kids at school in the process, including her boyfriend, Jake.

Anna McNichol knows how to take charge. Raised by a single mother, she's worked to ensure her three children have every advantage she didn't. And while her marriage has its problems, she values commitment and believes in 'till death do us part.' Now an empty nester, she's at the peak of her career and ready to seize the opportunity to focus on her future. But life can change in an instant, and when her husband dies suddenly, Anna's carefully constructed...

This is a story of love, sin, guilt, and redemption played out against the stark background of Puritan New England.

Hired to counter a blackmailer who has had affairs with several wealthy women, Boston private eye Spenser finds the case turning violent when the women are systematically murdered.