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Ten-year-old Vivien Leigh wants more than anything to understand the adult world. But when two black nuns come to teach at her all-white Catholic elementary school, everything begins to change. Her father leads a "Concerned Citizens" group aiming to replace the new nuns, and her mother's relationship with their black housekeeper deteriorates.

Nathan Winer never knew what happened to his father, who disappeared one rainy night when Nathan was seven. Raised by his mother to be hardworking and self-sufficient, Nathan keeps his distance from the rest of his rural Tennessee community. But there is an evil in this place that has already touched his life. It will poison Amber Rose, the young woman he comes to love.

Twelve-year-old Steven is determined to put an end to his family's misery and find the remains of his uncle, who was believed to be murdered as a child by a local pedophile. Steven spends his days digging for clues around his grandmother's home, but when his search fails to unearth anything new, he reaches out to the only person with answers--the accused murderer now serving life in prison.

When the husband and wife team of Walt and Jocelyn Gaines travel to South America to contribute their archaeological expertise at a newly uncovered Mayan site, no one could predict what happens next. Fallen Idols is a riveting novel of uncommon discoveries.

Recently widowed, Love Mercy Johnson longs to make amends with her estranged grandchildren. She gets an unexpected chance to do just that when her lovelorn 18-year-old granddaughter Rett shows up at the family ranch seeking solace.

Chance Carter doesn't like his Grandmother Rista. When he learns her health is failing, the only thing compelling him to leave Florida for Texas is his status as the sole heir to her million-dollar ranch. Yet when he pays her a visit, he learns the reality of the past -- including why Rista shot both her husband and the man who may have been Chance's father.

When a young Korean girl known as Regret leaves her homeland for a better life in Hawaii, as a "picture bride," she expects to find prosperity and a chance at education. But the rich husband she is promised turns out to be a poor plantation worker with drinking and gambling problems, and the girl now known as Jin is forced to seek her own path. Joining with her fellow picture brides to start a business, Jin must shed her naieveté and overcome prejudice to succeed in this foreign land.

Mr. and Mrs. Cook-Goldman need a nanny for their two children. When they hire Randi, they fail to check her references. The convenient new arrangement soon leads to a string of troubling events.

T. Coraghessan Boyle weaves together the stories of two families in Southern California--one affluent, the other destitute. As Boyle creates a counterpoint of personal needs, civic responsibility, and social custom, each family's quest for the American Dream fuels a deep fear and anger that ultimately lead to a perilous confrontation.

Beginning with an engagement announcement and ending with the birth of a son, the author gives a charming and utterly convincing snapshot of the first few years of a modern Southern marriage.