Describes the author's experiences as a young widow and the pivotal relationships she forged with five other widows, recounting the stories of their losses and bravery as exchanged throughout a year of monthly Saturday night meetings, during which the author met and fell in love with her current husband.

Joel, a caustic 1980's film critic for a national horror magazine, finds himself unwittingly trapped in a self-help group for serial killers. With no other choice, Joel attempts to blend in with his homicidal surroundings or risk becoming the next victim.

Explores the shocking practices of NXIVM, a cult run by Keith Raniere and many enablers, detailing its rise as a personal development company, its ability to evade prosecution for decades, and the investigation that finally revealed its dark secrets to the world.