ALMENA JOHNSTONE, a young woman thought to be mentally slow, is thrust back to her small insular hometown. In Elktown, Maryland she expects nothing more than a lonely, unfulfilled life. Almena's passion is weaving, but her past is ugly. Unable to understand or articulate her needs, she hides her pain in the intricate stitching of her rugs. She becomes an easy target, until one day-the day as she describes as 'the best day' of her life-Almena is abandoned. Her isolation is broken when a new family moves in nearby. But the neighbors she comes to adore, arrive with their own sordid history of violence, trauma, and sexual abuse that play out in a horrific murder. Left with motherless twins, Almena must make a desperate escape to keep them safe and make a new start in New Haven, CT. But will Almena's tainted past disturb the peace she finds in the sanctity of her new home?