Despite plenty of warning signs, Shelley Gallagher falls for the seductive and defiant Ben Volski. A textbook ‘good girl’ bent on making the world a better place, her entry into womanhood was ambivalent and calamitous. By contrast, Ben is a testosterone-driven male with utter disregard for rules. Vague about his intentions toward her, she recklessly moves in with him. Contradictory images of him keep her guessing. His two young children, each locked in their own reclusive world, lay a claim on her heart and conscience while she vacillates; stay or go? The unthinkable happens: a search warrant, an arrest. Caught with Ben in a criminal investigation, Shelley is shocked by a cold and sometimes treacherous justice system. Forced to confront her naivete, she learns that a principled life is not the straight and narrow path she once thought. When tragedy strikes, their roller-coaster relationship tests her deepest beliefs about right and wrong.