First published 2008
Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos escaped the flames that killed three students in their Seton Hall freshman dorm on January 19, 2000. Both young men had made their families proud by reaching college from poor neighborhoods. Now they face a different battle. Their burns represent the worst cases Saint Barnabas hospital's burn unit has ever treated. The recovery demands everything from them, their families, and the medical team. Doctors and nurses work around the clock while mothers and fathers maintain vigil. Faith becomes crucial as the healing process unfolds. Meanwhile, investigators hunt for the arsonists responsible for the tragedy. A cover-up emerges that threatens to hide the truth. Through it all, two women enter their lives, seeing past the physical damage to the men beneath. Robin Gaby Fisher follows these interconnected stories of survival, love, and the search for justice after a single night changed everything.
Genres: drama, american-fiction, crime, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: based-on-true-events, overcoming-adversity
Setting: New Jersey, Saint Barnabas, Seton Hall
Period: 2000
261 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: medical-trauma, physical-abuse