First Ladies

Charleston's churches fall silent on Sunday mornings, and the hours between eleven and one belong to worship. In Charlotte, Vashti McDaniels, wife of Pastor Steve McDaniels, holds a quiet kind of power. A warm greeting from her can open doors in the evangelical community, while a cool glance can shut them. Polished and gracious, she seems to have no troubles at all, though she is skilled at concealing the bruises beneath her poise.

Savoy Taylor, another pastor's wife and one of Vashti's closest friends, is admired for her fairness and her willingness to withhold judgment. Her husband, Pastor Paul Taylor, is praised for sermons that move and provoke his congregation, yet the words come from Savoy, and the congregation never knows it. When Julian, her college sweetheart, returns to Charlotte, Savoy begins to view her husband with growing criticism, and buried secrets start to surface. Soon she is fleeing for her life in the most literal sense.

Ivy Stone, the third friend, has already endured more than her share of grief. Her husband of fourteen years died suddenly of a heart attack, and the costs tied to his illness left her financially drained and emotionally raw. Given everything she has lost, it seems unlikely that anyone would try to extort money from her. First Ladies follows these three women through a series of unexpected turns, revealing what happens behind the church doors long before the congregation arrives.