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. . . Bootlegging was Milton and Yvonne Hamilton's ticket out of poverty, prison time, and plain bad luck. Now they've moved on--to a bigger, richer pool of clientele--right 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 . . . As Milton soon learns, Odell is hiding an outside family and dubious business dealings. It's the perfect recipe for a blackmail scheme that will help Milton hide his own dirty secrets--even from Yvonne. Better yet, he can take ever more dangerous risks to ace out his liquor-smuggling rivals--and add a lucrative temptation to his illicit services. And Yvonne, emboldened by her husband's new gravy train, delights in tormenting Joyce about everything the snobbish matron doesn't have--especially children. But even a winning hand can be played too far. Pushed past their limits, Odell and Joyce will play on Milton's careless boasting--to get him and Yvonne out of their lives for good. And soon, a devastating frame-up will plunge one couple into a living nightmare--and set the stage for explosive retribution . . .
