Summary

In June 2017, Kim is babysitting her grandson Noah. Her daughter, Tallulah, is on a date with her boyfriend Zach (Noah’s dad). Zach and Tallulah are nineteen, and they live with Kim. Tallulah texts her mom to say that they have met some of her college friends at the pub. She asks whether Kim minds if they go over to someone’s house, and Kim tells her to stay out as long as she likes. When Kim wakes up in the morning, however, they have not come home, and they do not answer their phones.

Chapter 2 jumps forward to August 2018. Sophie and her boyfriend Shaun arrive at Maypole House, where Shaun is the new head teacher. Sophie is an author of detective novels, and she has left London to be with Shaun, although he is older than her and they have not been...