What happens when a dark past catches up with a promising future and love encounters deceit? Carol Shavers is a twenty-eight-year-old welfare mother of three who proves her dedication to her children invincible - that is, until her relationship with James, her twins' father, becomes abusive and his drug addiction pushes her into the throes of a torrid love triangle with an ex-drug dealer, Wesley Rhodes. Unfortunately, Wesley possesses demons of his own. A steamy affair with Pamela Winthrop, heiress to her father's affluent corporation, is least of his worry. His past involvement in the murder of a former rival, which left an innocent child injured, is, for Wesley, a continuous nightmare. When Carol stumbles upon Wesley's stash mounted by not only bits of her past but her crippled son, Kevin's, past, too, she realizes that Wesley's motives are in no way pure and that their chance-meeting holds a darker meaning for Wesley. Now, with Wesley's trail of deceit uncovered, Carol challenges a love that ultimately becomes a marathon towards her independence.