With a mother buried in denial and a manipulative father who sexually abused him from age ten, college sophomore Jake Smith struggles in secret with anxiety and a self-injury addiction. When emotional fallout after a disastrous family camping trip leaves Jake unable to cope, fear that his five-year-old brother may one day suffer the same abuse is the only thing that can bring him back from the edge.

In this prequel to the forthcoming Scars series, Gayle Towell explores and explodes the definition of family and what it means when those closest to you hurt you in unspeakable ways.