Olivia Segal, Annie Aldrich, and James "Jamie" Arias were born to wealthy and influential parents who became friends when they placed their children in the prestigious American School in London. But their fairy-tale lives abruptly ended when a helicopter crash killed all the adults in one terrible moment, leaving Olivia, Annie, and Jamie orphans. Caught in grief as searing as fire, the three friends turn to one another and make a pact: to put each other first should any of them ever need help. Years of healing pass, bringing them into adulthood and their own separate lives, before the time comes for promises to be kept. Alice, the quintessential society wife, is stunned to find herself tormented by an addiction to prescription drugs that threatens her marriage, her children, and even her life. Then Jamie, founder of a successful ad agency, marries a Boston beauty, only to be betrayed in a way that can destroy him professionally - and as a man. Annie's and Jamie's crises pale however, in comparison to what befalls Olivia. Always the leader, and always the strongest of the three, it is Olivia whose intense curiosity and almost reckless energy drive her to probe the truth about that fatal helicopter crash - and discover a shocking revelation so terrible and dangerous, someone is willing to kill to keep that long-buried secret hidden. Reluctant to involve her dearest friends, Olivia realizes too late that she too could die unless Annie and Jamie somehow sense that she needs them desperately and needs them now.