First published 2018
Ellis Reed struggles as a newspaper reporter in 1931 when the Great Depression grips America. He discovers two young siblings sitting on a farmhouse porch beneath a crude sign advertising them for sale. The scene triggers painful memories from his own childhood, but he takes a photograph anyway. Ellis never intends to publish the image, yet it becomes his career breakthrough when it appears in print. The photo's publication sets off a chain of devastating consequences he never anticipated. Secretary Lillian Palmer works alongside Ellis and recognizes something deeper in the photograph than just another news story. She carries her own buried secrets that connect her to the image. Ellis and Lillian join forces to undo the damage caused by the photo's publication. They attempt to reunite the fractured family while risking their own futures. Their mission becomes a test of how far they will go to correct a mistake that changed multiple lives forever.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: redemption, second-chance
Setting: America, United States
Period: 1931
530 pages · Library Binding · Thorndike Press Large Print
Content warnings: child-abuse