The Gold's and the Harte's have lived next door to one another for years, and their children, Emily and Chris, have grown from childhood friends into a devoted teenage couple. Their families assume the relationship will continue into adulthood until a late-night call brings devastating news: Emily is dead from a gunshot wound and Chris says they had planned to die together. When evidence leads to a murder charge, the close bond between the families begins to collapse. The story moves between the court case and the years leading to the shooting, revealing pressures, secrets and emotions the adults failed to see. Jodi Picoult examines love, depression, parental expectations and the difficulty of knowing even the people closest to us.