"More than seventy years after Pearl Harbor drew the United States into World War II, a sinister secret—remnants of covert research done by the Army—haunts the Keaton School.
Less than two months have passed since Devon Mackintosh uncovered the truth about the apparent suicide of Hutch, Keaton's golden boy and her unrequited love. But solving Hutch's murder has put all eyes on her in the small Keaton School community. When she is knocked unconscious on a New Year's Eve cruise, it's clear that her life is danger too. In the aftermath of the attack, Devon must attend a weekly meeting with Dr. Jocelyn Hsu, a shrink who refuses to believe Devon's account of the 'accident.'
She turns to the only people she can trust: Hutch's terminally ill grandfather, Reed, and his heirs Bodhi and Raven. Before Reed dies, he gives Devon a journal from his time as a science prodigy in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Reed's entries not only detail top secret research on what would become Keaton land, they reveal a pact made among three powerful families—a pact that could determine the school's future. Wrestling with growing feelings for Bodhi and the very real threat closing in on her, Devon fights to untangle both the past and the present and find the truth Reed's enemies are still willing to kill for."
"Sixteen-year-old Devon Mackintosh has always felt like an outsider at Keaton, the prestigious California boarding school perched above the Pacific. As long as she's not fitting in, Devon figures she might as well pad her application to Stanford's psych program. So junior year, she decides to become a peer counselor, a de facto therapist for students in crisis. At first, it seems like it will be an easy fly-on-the-wall gig, but her expectations are turned upside down when Jason Hutchins (a.k.a. 'Hutch'), one of the Keaton's most popular students, commits suicide.
Devon dives into her new role providing support for Hutch's friends, but she's haunted by her own attachment to him. The two shared an extraordinary night during their first week freshman year; it was the only time at Keaton when she felt like someone else really understood her. As the secrets and confessions pile up in her sessions, Devon comes to a startling conclusion: Hutch couldn't have taken his own life. Bound by her oath of confidentiality—and tortured by her unrequited love—Devon embarks on a solitary mission to get to the bottom of Hutch's death … and the stakes are higher than she ever could have imagined."