About the book: year / Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Take me, for example. I look like a respected doctor who has everything going well, but the mental hospital where I work in Montana is actually a refuge from my demons. At thirty-five years old, I have already failed on an epic scale. Treating patients at Hawthorne Hill is part of my atonement. I found peace when a new patient turned my world upside down. Alison Cole is a beautiful, frightened survivor who fell silent after witnessing a murder. But, even without words, I am drawn to her. The closer we became, the more tempted I was to cross my professional boundaries and acknowledge my desire. I soon find myself in a desperate race to connect all the pieces of Alison's silence. Her life becomes inextricably intertwined with mine as I fight to hold on to the second chance I thought I would never have. I will break every rule I have to protect a woman who has been to hell and back. For her sake I will become bad.