From the award-winning author of the Detective Harriet Foster series comes an emotionally charged journey of resilience and redemption, when a young woman flees her corrupt family to build the home where she belongs.

Esmee Manning sees something she wasn’t supposed to—and it opens her eyes to who her family really is.

Refusing to play the part of dutiful daughter, Esmee leaves her home and herself behind. She assumes a new identity, traveling from one city to the next, never staying too long in any of them. When she meets lawyer Augustus Payne, he promises her a place to once again call home…and another she’ll have to escape.

It’s not until Esmee and her son find their way to New Jerusalem, Illinois, that she breathes easy. But even amid the tight-knit community that becomes her sanctuary, Esmee keeps her eye on the outskirts.

Augustus won’t let her go that easily. Her family’s still out there. And now, it’s not only her freedom Esmee stands to lose. She has a whole life to protect.

And she’ll do whatever it takes to keep it—her son, her friends, her town—safe.

© 2027 by Tracy Clark, all rights reserved.

<p>Tracy Clark is the author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery and Detective Harriet Foster series, award-winning books that feature tough, smart, Black female characters working the mean streets of the Windy City. Her debut novel, <i>Broken Places</i>, was CrimeReads’ Best New PI Book of 2018 and made <i>Library Journal</i>’s Best Crime Fiction list that same year.</p><p>A finalist for Anthony, Lefty, Macavity, Edgar, and Shamus Awards, Tracy has won two G. P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Awards and one Sara Paretsky Award. She is a proud member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime and sits on boards at Bouchercon and the Midwest Mystery Conference.</p><p>When not writing, Tracy watches old black-and-white movies, reads, or putters around. She roots equally for the Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Blackhawks, Sky, and Fire. As a proud Chicagoan, it’s deep-dish and hot dogs, no ketchup—vegan schmegan. And she can toss a (fictional) dead body anywhere and make it work. <i>Dare her</i>.</p>