Mercy is hard in a place like this. I wished him dead before I ever saw his face In a place like Odessa, Texas choosing who to trust can be a dangerous game. Mary Rose Whitehead isn't looking for trouble - but when it shows up at her front door, she finds she can't turn away. Corinne Shepherd, newly widowed, wants nothing more than to mind her own business, and for everyone else to mind theirs. But when the town she has spent years rebelling against closes ranks she realises she is going to have to take a side. Gloria Ramìrez, fourteen years old and out of her depth, survives the brutality of one man only to face the indifference and prejudices of many. When justice is as slippery as oil, and kindness becomes a hazardous act, sometimes courage is all we have to keep us alive.