Orphaned whilst still in her teens, and forced to give up her illegitimate baby for adoption, April Winston must make her own way in life. She forges a career as a successful New York lawyer, and enjoys the wealth and respect that come with it. But there is something missing. She yearns to know what happened to her long-lost baby daughter, and envies her married friends Bob and Nicole their happy family home. When Bob offers April partnership in his small-town legal practice, she seizes the opportunity of a quieter, more fulfilling pace of life. Within days of April’s arrival, however, the little town of magnolia is shaken to its core by the sudden death of a baby girl. Bob and April are soon drawn into what will fast become a complex, disturbing and - for April especially - emotional murder inquiry.