Molly Jane Hampton is a compelling mystery.

Mary Lynn and Joe Hampton are happily married with two children. John William is six-years-old and Molly Jane is four. Mary Lynn's sister and her husband, Laura and Ted Wilson, live next to the Hampton's. Unable to have children of their own, Laura and Ted Wilson dote on John William and Molly Jane.

One day at school, John William was scolded and questioned about his squirming around in his chair. When John William replied that it was because "his bottom hurt," he is sent to the school nurse. When John William is questioned about it, he becomes terribly upset. The school decides to involve the authorities and a doctor examines John William and reports that he has been sexually abused.

The reader is led through the daily struggles and pain of: Mary Lynn who has no doubt her husband is innocent and searches for the real killer; Joe who fears for his life in prison where he is labeled "baby killer;" and Laura Wilson who truly believes Joe killed his son and worries that one day Molly may be returned to a dangerous situation.