Aspiring investigative journalist Shannon Gibbons and her family have moved into a beautiful house in the Fabulous Forties of East Sacramento, where Shannon finds a fast connection with a new neighbor. Renowned journalist Rosella Marlow appears to have a genuine interest in giving Shannon's own career a boost--as personal assistant on Rosella's new project. Appearances are deceiving.

Bitter, resentful, and consumed by excruciating grief, Rosella is obsessed with wiping the smiles off her contented neighbors' faces. Now she's watching closely, ready to expose their secrets. Secrets dark enough to destroy lives. In Shannon, Rosella has a trusting and unwitting accomplice. But Rosella is being watched, too. And when someone is found murdered, everyone on this quiet block is a suspect. Because everyone has a motive.

With the help of a friend, Shannon begins an investigation into the death of a person she just met. As neighbor is pitted against neighbor, the truth is much scarier than anything they imagined.