Convicted of murder at age twenty-three, Clara Mattingly lost her promising future decades ago when she joined her boyfriend on his impulsive crime spree. Since that day, she has led a stoic and isolated life in prison, rarely looking back at who she once was-a shy young art student and dancer, unsure of herself and deeply in love. Now in her forties, she can allow herself no hope of a better future; survival is a day-to-day challenge.

But when a surprise visitor shows up one day, bringing her past abruptly into her present, Clara finds that in an instant everything has changed. Now she must account for the life she has led-for its beauty as well as its brutality-and face the truth behind the terrible secret she has kept to herself all these years.

Originally published as Inside These Walls by MIRA Books