WINNER - 2019 Royal Palm Literary Award & UK Wishing Shelf Awards Finalist Ella Donovan can't wait to see her unhappy past and her bleak Minnesota hometown in her rearview mirror. She arrives in Blanchard, a charming, antebellum city of colorful bridges and gleaming beaches for her dream job working with teen addicts. But her best laid plans are bound to unravel with a boss who wants her to fail, Southern gentleman who are not so gentlemanly and a corrupt care system besieged by an escalating pandemic. If not for fierce Jo Gaetano, her wise-cracking co-worker and new best friend, Ella just might crack under pressure. Yet when a fateful phone call unleashes a pandora's box of family secrets threatening to crash Ella's hard-won independence and faith in herself, she finds herself in the arms of a forbidden romantic liaison. Will Ella succumb to her losses and unfortunate choices or find hope and renewal amongst the ashes? Based on real events.