Abducted youth Luke Ellis is imprisoned in an inescapable institute, where children with the abilities of telekinesis and telepathy are subjected to torturous manipulation.

After his anger erupts into violence, Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life.

When she is abandoned by her alcoholic mother, high school senior Ruby winds up living with Cora, the sister she has not seen for ten years, and learns about Cora's new life, what makes a family, how to allow people to help her when she needs it, and that she too has something to offer others.

With her 40th birthday approaching—the same time her mother went insane—Emma Averell is unable to sleep, and loses time during the day, symptoms her mother showed, leading her to wonder if the madness is in her blood or is she slowly beginning to lose her mind.

The gripping story of Joseph, 14, who joins his family as a foster child. Damaged in prison, Joseph wants nothing more than to find his baby daughter, Jupiter, whom he has never seen. When Joseph has begun to believe he'll have a future, he is confronted by demons from his past that force a tragic sacrifice.

Although Emma Thomas's secret abusive home life has been exposed and her tormentor eliminated, she is still haunted by her experience, and must learn to reclaim her life.

Eighty-year-old Seattle criminal attorney Royal, in his last days of his long career, takes on the case of conservative, white fundamentalists Christians Delven and Betsy Harvey, who are accused of murdering their adopted daughter from Ethiopia.

Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother.

Mae moves in with fifteen-year-old Jules' family and seems to be taking over her life, but Mae's past in a nearby cult soon threatens them all.