Some say that Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is the most beautiful village in all of France. That's especially true at Christmastime when the scent of baked gingerbread mingles with the fragrance of evergreen boughs and wafts deliciously through the village's quaint cobblestone lanes. It's hard to believe anything sinister could be waiting in any of its many charming streets and alleyways.

But when American expat Maggie Newberry finds a pregnant, homeless teenager there she's thrust into a whirling maelstrom of enmity and treachery that quickly reveals in devastating clarity that not all families are created equal.

In fact, some are so badly damaged nothing can fix them.

Except possibly murder.