Desperate Places:

Drowned secrets will eventually whisper their way to the surface . . .

ALEC LANGSTON is everyone's favorite teacher at his Las Vegas high school. No one would guess that the handsome, amiable man is a deadbeat father who has never met his teenage daughter, whose mother he abandoned in their Indiana hometown at the news of her pregnancy eighteen years ago. Recently, though, he has had a change of heart and has reached out to his daughter, Taryn. Will she choose to forgive him and build a relationship with him, or to forever hate him, which he knows he deserves?

Then there's Pamela, Taryn's mom, whom Alec once loved before the unthinkable happened and he began to keep dark secrets from her. Alec must decide whether or not he will courageously break the silence, uttering the unspoken truths of his past that have kept him away all these years.

Back in Indiana, Taryn's nemesis, RIO JUAREZ, is paying the consequences of her hateful and dangerous attack on Taryn seven months ago. Kicked out of school for her senior year, Rio finds herself with an unexpected opportunity to start a new life in a different part of the country.

Wishing she could leave her mean, bitter mother behind, Rio sets off for a trip across the country, her mother, Lola, at the wheel of their barely-running car, and the two move in with Lola's brother and his family. Uncle Javier treats Rio like a daughter, and spending her senior year at the same school as her beloved cousin is a dream-come-true.

But Rio is easily lured into an evil, life-changing choice which she will soon deeply regret. Finding her way out of the mess she has made proves challenging and leads her down an unexpected path she could never have dreamed of.

In Hollywood, TADD BARTON's fame continues to rise, and, though he is grateful for the success, he is weary of being practically worshiped and having to disguise himself to maintain any sort of private life. He dreads an awkward encounter with a girl from his past, but knows he must face the situation.

Embarking on a new relationship, Tadd feels like he's on top of the world. Just when he's feeling like everything is balanced in his life, he receives devastating news. There is nothing his fame or his connections or his influence can do to help him, and the unknowns of his future grip him in paralyzing fear.

But God is there. He is moving and working in the lives of Alec, Rio, and Tadd, whether or not they choose to see it or respond. Your heart will be touched as you witness the various reactions of these three individuals while they encounter the God who has always been present with them.