Lawyer Jace Scholte returns to the small town he grew up in to do some work for his mentor, Carson MacGregor, and runs into his college sweetheart and almost-fiancee, Dorothea (Dodie) Westervelt. Dodie dropped out of everyones life six years ago without explanation. Her personality has changed: shes no longer outgoing or friendly but sullen and sad. When Dodie describes herself as feeling violated and unclean its not hard to connect the dots and see why shes changed; she was raped.

The identity of Dodies rapist becomes clear as the plot progresses and this twist is what will make or break Jace and Dodies relationship. They slowly reconnect with each other while working on a committee headed by Dodies mother Dodie gets a semi-retired country western singer named Helen Lennox (whos recently moved into town after marrying a local) to sing for a fundraiser, which the town hopes will raise money to build a shelter and add some counselors. The shelter is for raped and abused women and Dodie hopes to become a counselor.

Theres a beautiful scene where Dodie confronts her parents, who dont know her secret. There is the usual anger, denial, and sadness. Then Dodies father says one of the most loving and beautiful prayers Ive ever heard, asking God for help in healing his daughter. It brought tears to my eyes. Highly recommended.

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