When a hurricane jogs off course, quaint Pleasant Palms Trailer Park isn't the only thing ripped apart. Right in front of Hester Murphy's eyes is the unbearable evidence of who her husband Al really is. As a young English teacher, Hester was drawn to sexy Alexander Murphy like a moth to a flame. With her perception clouded by lust and anxious to have a family of her own, Hester overlooked the cracks in Al's veneer and committed herself to him. Now the retired teacher begins to piece together the darkest of her husband's secrets, while memories of her own transgressions are driving her mad. She finds her only reprieve in her treasured books, but sometimes even the words of her beloved writers are no consolation. In the end, does Hester have the fortitude to bring the scandalous facts about Al into the light of day, or will she once again choose to the coward's way out and sweep yet another horror under the carpet? A cautionary tale for young women, a song of lament for women of experience, and an eye-opener for men, S. Snyder-Carroll's debut novel, "On the Edge of Dangerous Things," boldly explores the psychology of shame, how it insidiously plagues thoughts and goads even more appalling actions. Disgrace is a heavy yoke for Hester to bear, and like the Hester in "The Scarlet Letter," she tries to stoically accept her tribulations as just punishment in hopes of earning God's forgiveness. But at the same time she wants what every woman wants: to be loved by the man she loves, to have it all come hell or high water...and that might just be her undoing.