Jackson Vance, Principal of the Beacon Pointe High School is highly respected by his students and the public. To his family and colleagues he has the perfect life and has achieved success in his chosen profession. Only those closest to him recognize the hell and lingering torment he's carrying since the night his daughter and her boyfriend were kidnapped and left trussed up on a beach. He couldn't admit the truth. It was a message letting him know he was under their radar, watching and waiting. The only one's he can depend on and trust are The Association. He's been aware of these threats since he was sixteen years old and purposely locked away the love he has for Tamie Elise, his peach girl, the only woman he's ever loved. If he opened the door to his heart, he'd be drawing her into his private hell. Was love worth that risk? Tamie Elise Harris fell in love with Jackson Vance the moment she hit him in the back with a corn cob. He made her senior year in high school beautiful and it broke her heart when she had to move away right after graduation. As a psychologist her specialty is helping children. After working with Doctors Without Borders, she returned to Beacon Pointe fifteen years ago to take up the position of psychologist in the high school. She's a firm believer that love never dies. They deserved their own happily ever after but would he still love her after he found out about the tormenting secrets she's been hiding from him? The carefree lives of four sixteen-year-olds were changed forever when they witness a cold blooded murder. Everett, Jackson, Mason and Ryder, The Association, have shared dark secrets since they were in high school. As teenagers they suffered threats to themselves and their families. Blackmail was a reminder their lives were under close scrutiny while they achieved success in their chosen professions. As adults they decide 'no more.' As they start their investigation into the murder, they have no idea how their lives have been manipulated by their unknown enemy.