In a wealthy American neighborhood with beautiful houses and manicured lawns lives Elena Richardson's family. When single mother Mia moves in, the foundations of the family's balance are quickly shaken. More than the intrusion of difference into their seemingly idyllic lives, the neighborhood is marked by the couple's decision to adopt a baby of Chinese-American roots. The neighborhood is divided into two camps. Elena's suspicion soon grows into an obsession that will cause irreparable damage to both families...

Through the prism of its central plot – a struggle for custody of a baby – the novel also explores the dynamics of family life, interracial relationships and the deceptive perfection of American suburbia. A superbly written story with insightfully described characters, flowing text and an exceptional style, the reader is constantly tossed from one bank to the other, changing his own point of view. This is the kind of book that draws the reader in so much that he cannot put it down until he has read the last paragraph.