Madeline and Summer are more than best friends. They might as well be sisters; they've claimed the title, anyway—and sisters tell each other everything. But Summer has a secret she's been hiding for years. Someone's been hurting her, someone close, and when it comes out, it destroys everything around her with the force of dying stars.

Six years after the trial, Madeline is a haunted young woman trying to build a new life in Boston, but the guilt of her betrayal when her friend needed her most—brings her to the brink of suicide. Madeline embarks on a journey to heal from the damage caused by Summer's secret and both her and her mother's terrible response. To let go of the past, Madeline must confront her father, mother, and all those involved with the trial that split her family apart—or continue her descent into dust, finishing what she started to escape it.