Within the walls of a tasteful, perfectly kept house in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, young Zane Bigelow feels like a prisoner of war. Strangers -- and even Zane's own aunt across the lake -- see his parents as a successful surgeon and his stylish wife, making appearances at their children's ballet recitals and baseball games. Zane and his sister know the truth: There is something terribly wrong. As his father's violent, controlling rages...

Neglected as a toddler, Lila was rescued by a canny young drifter and together they crafted a life on the run. Despite some petty violence and moments of desperation, their life was laced with moments of joy and love. When Lila arrives in Gilead, she struggles to reconcile the life of her makeshift family and their days of hardship with the gentle Christian worldview of her husband which paradoxically judges those she loves.

After being rejected by Anastasia Steele, Christian Grey attempts to regain her trust while also dealing with the consequences of his past sexual relationships.

"Bestselling romance author Jacob Churcher hasn't been home for almost twenty years--not since his mentally ill mother kicked him out of the house when he was just sixteen. When a lawyer calls a few weeks before Christmas to inform him that his estranged mother has passed away and left her house to him, Jacob returns not just to settle the estate but to try to reconcile with the past and the pain and abuse he experienced as a child. Also, maybe cleaning...