Lillian Breaker is at loose ends. She's just turned 28 years old, works at the local Save-a-Lot and is still living in her mother's house (in the attic no less). To say that she's going nowhere would be an understatement. Until she receives the latest letter from her highschool friend Madison Roberts. Madison has always been everything Lillian is not, pretty, confident, wealthy and now married to the man, Senator Jasper Roberts, slated to be the next US Secretary of State. But Madison has a little problem. One that she would like Lillian to solve.
When Lillian arrives at the estate outside of Nashville, she learns that the somewhat mundane job she's taken on, caring for Madison's soon to be arriving twin step-kids, isn't going to be as straightforward as she'd thought. There's one little detail that Madison neglected to mention when she offered Lillian the job of nanny to the nine-year-olds...they have a habit of spontaneously combusting when they become stressed. Now Lillian is tasked not only with caring for them but making sure they remain calm, and most important of all, that no one knows about this strange quirk in the children - wouldn't want to jeopardize the Senator's chances for the new job.
Sound like a weird book? Okay, I'll admit it, it kind of is. But it's also a nicely (dare I say gently) written exploration of childhood trauma and found families with traces of dark humor running through.