As the tightly structured chapters toggle between Saskia’s past and present, Beverly-Whittemore deftly ratchets up the tension by slowly, almost imperceptibly revealing the psychological troubles haunting not only Saskia, but also Abraham. Mysterious letters have arrived in all their mailboxes, luring them back to Home, threatening to reveal a terrible secret. Only Saskia lives alone and isolated in her late grandmother's Connecticut house.
Sixteen years later, Saskia and her friends from Home are living separate lives: Xavier and his husband are trying to adopt a child, Ben and Cornelia have built their own families, Issy is a single mom. In the background, the siege on Waco has Abraham on edge, and bad choices eventually erupt in a catastrophic event. But she is also surrounded by adults trying to navigate marital and financial difficulties. There in the woods of Maine, Saskia finds new friends among the other kids. Then Jane decides not to come home, and Phillip takes them to Home, where the enigmatic leader, Abraham, holds court, urging everyone to “Unthing” themselves and give up all worldly attachments. Phillip, her new father figure, is an eccentric painter, and although his wife, Jane, is rarely around, Saskia soon bonds with their son, Xavier, who's her age. Sent to live with family friends just after she turns 12, she initially thrives. With her father in jail, her mother absconded, and her grandmother unwilling to care for her, Saskia’s family disintegrates. It all began when Saskia’s 4-year-old little brother died. But cults never quite turn out as one might hope. When Saskia joined Home, a secluded Maine commune, she thought she had finally found a family.
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