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 ā¦
Bootlegging was Milton and Yvonne Hamiltonās ticket out of poverty, prison time, and plain bad luck. Now theyāve moved onāto a bigger, richer pool of clienteleāright 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 ā¦
As Milton soon learns, Odell is hiding an outside family and dubious business dealings. Itās the perfect recipe for a blackmail scheme that will help Milton hide his own dirty secretsāeven from Yvonne. Better yet, he can take ever more dangerous risks to ace out his liquor-smuggling rivalsāand add a lucrative temptation to his illicit services. And Yvonne, emboldened by her husbandās new gravy train, delights in tormenting Joyce about everything the snobbish matron doesnāt haveāespecially children.
But even a winning hand can be played too far. Pushed past their limits, Odell and Joyce will play on Miltonās careless boastingāto get him and Yvonne out of their lives for good ā¦