Emma has been raised by a very strict father and a mother who is very submissive to her husband’s strict ways. Both of Emma’s older sisters have rebelled and were distanced from the family in their late teens. Now, as Emma reaches 16, she decides to show her love to her new beau, Jack, who happens to be the older brother of her best friend, Fiona. However, the physical relationship must be kept private from her father to maintain peace in her family. Yet, as Emma maintains her growing relationship with Jack, she is unaware of the deepening feelings that another close friend of hers, Sam, is having for her. Sam is also good buds with Jack, so he works hard at hiding these feelings for Emma, but Sam and Emma’s friendship appears to be more open and two-way than Emma and Jack’s relationship. Meanwhile, in another community, Helen has grown up as an adoptee in the foster system, but having broken into her files to uncover her birth certificate and foster files matched with news clippings at the time of her birth, she feels she has discovered the high society couple that abandoned her at birth and is calculating her eventual revenge. As the years go by, Emma finds out her father’s true plans for her, which severely affects her relationships with Jack, as well as her friendship with Sam, which eventually leads to Sam crossing paths with Helen, who is ready to start another manipulative relationship. Over a course of time that extends over a few years past a decade, the story examines relationships and lives damaged and twisted by both subtle and direct psychological and physical manipulation. Characters are complex and well-drawn out, evoking both hopeful optimism, fear, and rising angry emotions from the reader. There were moments of character patience or cluelessness that seemed a stretch, but for the most part, I was wrapped up within the angst and growth of this story. ( )