Lake Forest bank executive Joseph Barge is dead and everybody he's tormented is celebrating. All except Ellie, his 13-year-old daughter. Left in the cold glare of her father, who drowned his sorrows in rage and alcohol, Ellie resorted to bullying to get his attention. Years ago, she lost her mother. Now her father, too? In shock at her father's death, Ellie plunges into a deep depression, unable to communicate with the outside world. Distressed by her student's suffering, special education teacher Mitzy Maven teams up with CPD Detective Maggie O'Connor and hottie North Shore Detective Eric Whelan to solve the case. It doesn't take long for Mitzy, a former investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune, to find a slew of people who wanted Barge gone. A disgruntled co-worker. The sexually-harassed nanny. The sister-in-law who fought for custody. Half the White Oaks Middle School teaching staff