Secrets, Lies, and Consequences

So now I’m writing to you, ‘Dad,’ hoping you will be reasonable and help me out…The baby’s due in August…I need money to live on…

By the way, does your wife know about me? And does she know you got forced into retirement? If not, I’m sure you wouldn’t want her to find out about that situation, would you?

Ellis and Maggie Jones arrive in tropical Panama looking forward to spending the winter golfing, writing, relaxing on the beach, and socializing with friends. But an unexpected email soon derails their plans: Ellis’s past catches up with him in the form of a young woman attempting to blackmail him. This turn of events soon exposes decades of deception as Maggie realizes the extent of the secrets—old and new—Ellis has concealed from her, and Ellis discovers that he has also been deceived and exploited.

Through Ellis and Maggie’s interactions, as well as those of other characters, author Karen Hyatt examines how secrets and deception affect relationships. How much do we hide from those closest to us? What are our motives for doing so? How honest are we with ourselves? And how do lives change when secrets start to unravel?