Jess is a stay-at-home mother-of-three with boundless reserves of patience, energy, and love. After being friends for a decade, this is how Liz sees her. But when one of the children lands in the emergency room, Liz is left questioning everything she thought she knew about her friends-- and about herself.

Liz Trenchard is an experienced pediatrician with a duty to protect all children admitted to her busy emergency room. When Jess Curtis, an affluent, stay-at-home mother, turns up at the ER one night with her baby girl, she immediately prompts suspicion. The ten-month-old has a blow to the head her mother doesn't seem to have noticed, and Jess has a story that doesn't stack up. Meanwhile, Liz is riddled with doubt as she confronts secrets held by her mother, whose neglect not only led to a childhood tragedy involving her brother but raises questions about another baby Liz half-remembers from thirty-five years ago.