Set in Scarborough, Maine, in 1951, the story follows Evie as a body arrives at the police station and exposes the town's wartime wounds, uneasy relationships, and whatever someone is trying to keep hidden.

A body brought in with the cold rain breaks the quiet of Cell Two and stirs up the unease buried beneath the town's surface.

Set in Lafayette, Louisiana, the novel follows Glory Broussard, a church-going regular and small-time bookie, as she begins to doubt the supposed suicide of her beloved friend, a nun, and starts digging for the truth.

Glory uses the fact that people tend to underestimate her to her advantage, following clues into a tangle of gossip, power, and local grudges.