Tia Howard had moved from her hometown in Minnesota to begin a life on her own. She had always been close to her family, except for one sister, Desi. She had kept contact with her mother and brother by phone and letter until the response was abruptly cut off after Mother's Day. All means of contact was thwarted, for no apparent reason. When she checked with her brother, Dave, who lived in Wisconsin, she learned he had the same treatment. Over the Fourth of July, Dave had gone to his mother's home and was told by Desi's boyfriend to leave or he would call the police. None of this made sense. Less than a week before Labor Day, Tia received an invitation to Desi's wedding and was asked to be a bridesmaid. She called her brother, to find that he and his wife had been invited also. They were shocked, and didn't want to go. However, because things had been so off in their relationship with their mother, they decided it would be a great opportunity to see what was going on. What they were about to learn was amazing and distressing.