Emily Lindstrom, 14, is an aspiring concert violinist; she’s spending the summer practicing for a big audition while her girlfriends are at camp. She’s also got a thriving neighborhood business: for 50 cents, she’ll keep your secret. Her mother is very pregnant, and her parents seem more concerned about the new baby than anything Emily cares about. A new family moves in next door; their son, Philip, 12, becomes Emily’s friend. Eventually, the weight of Emily’s secrets – her own, the ones she’s keeping professionally, and a secret Philip tells her, send her life temporarily crashing down.

When Ethan arrives at the airport just in time to declare his undying love for his girlfriend, love appears to have conquered all. The scene, however, is really the ending of Ethan’s novel, which his agent calls “unrealistic.” Ethan soon meets a waitress, Jesse, and falls in love with her despite her growing devotion to Troy, a charming businessman. But the line between reality and fiction becomes increasingly blurred.

Wes Clayton is a lawman and a bishop in a Mormon community called Brigham. The town is shaken when a woman from California is found murdered. Clayton and his young deputy work with an FBI agent sent to investigate. As a civil and spiritual leader in the frightened town, Clayton must uncover the town’s deepest secrets, find the murderer and keep Brigham from ripping itself apart.