The time has come for Riley Cannon, one of the bestselling novelists in history, to end her beloved series, but little do her listeners know the major twist she is planning to deliver . . . if she can stay alive long enough to write it.

Understanding that she will soon have to bid farewell to her indestructible heroine and friend, Adrienne Astra, Rachel Roberts—pen name Riley Cannon—fears a world where she no longer spends time with the character whom she credits with keeping her alive during the most challenging times of her life. Overwhelmed, she realizes that in order to find the peace that she has long desired and to finish the series, she will have to open a chapter of her own life that she has closed off for four decades—locating and confronting the woman who abandoned her when she was two: Tina Haines, her mother.

But, as the search for Tina begins, Rachel’s inner circle starts to crumble. For the first time in Topaz Kennedy’s mythical career, she feels the savagery of the publishing world and the changing landscape that is ready to swallow her up, accelerated by the fact that she’s about to lose her biggest client. And Obadiah Ben-David, a man who has not only saved Rachel’s life but has finally found happiness in a relationship with a bookseller, receives crushing news that could change his life forever.

As her friends’ lives continue to fall apart and her fabled character’s survival hangs in the balance on the page, Rachel Roberts finds herself in the fight of her life. She must deal with the fact that her mother is not who she thought she was, while struggling to protect those she holds most dear . . . attempting to preserve a future for them that she believes is worth risking her existence for.

For life is like a Huron sunrise: Before the first sliver of orange breaks the horizon—symbolizing renewal, hope, and a new beginning—there is darkness . . .

and some of us never live to see another sunrise.