The Alibi Exchange

Camille Bayliss, trapped in a controlling marriage to high-profile defense attorney Ben, orchestrates a risky plan: she and Aubrey Price, a bartender with a tragic past, switch places for a day. Camille needs an untraceable alibi to investigate her husband's secrets, while Aubrey, still haunted by her parents' unsolved deaths, is drawn in by the promise of answers. Their careful choreography—swapping cars, phones, and even clothes—sets the stage for a day of deception. But beneath the surface, both women are hiding their own motives, and trust is as fragile as the digital breadcrumbs they leave behind. The alibi is more than a cover; it's a lifeline, and the cost of failure is ruin for both.

A Body in the Office

The next morning, Ben Bayliss is found dead in his home office, a brutal wound in his chest and a missing knife. Camille, returning from her "alibi weekend," discovers the body and calls Hank, Ben's law partner and friend. The police descend, and the Bayliss home becomes a crime scene. Camille's grief is raw, but suspicion quickly falls on her—after all, the spouse is always the first suspect. Hank, reeling from the loss and the sudden responsibility of the firm, must protect Camille while navigating his own complicated feelings and a partnership that was already unraveling. The murder upends every carefully laid plan, and the truth becomes a moving target.

Shifting Suspicions

As detectives question Camille and Hank, the cracks in their stories widen. Camille's digital alibi is almost too perfect, raising eyebrows. Hank's own alibi is weak, and his financial gain from Ben's death makes him a suspect. The police dig into Ben's cases, his marriage, and his business dealings, uncovering a web of secrets and resentments. Meanwhile, the media frenzy grows, and the pressure to solve the case intensifies. The line between victim and perpetrator blurs, and the real question becomes: who benefits most from Ben's death?

Ghosts of Corbeau

Camille's investigation into Ben's secrets leads her back to Corbeau, her insular hometown ruled by her powerful father, Randall Everett. There, the past is never truly buried. Camille's brother Silas and his wife Margaret are entangled in the family's legacy of corruption and cover-ups. The unsolved hit-and-run that killed Aubrey's parents a decade ago resurfaces, and the same names keep appearing: Ben, Silas, Margaret, and the late police chief Foster. The ghosts of Corbeau are restless, and the truth about that night may be the key to everything.

The Wife's Secret Plan

Camille's need to escape her marriage is more than emotional—it's financial. Her prenup requires proof of Ben's "bad behavior" to access her share. She enlists Aubrey, promising answers about her parents' deaths in exchange for help. But Camille's loyalty is to herself, and she's willing to betray anyone, even Aubrey, to secure her freedom. As the women's alliance frays, each must decide how far she'll go to get what she wants. The plan that began as mutual survival becomes a high-stakes game of betrayal.

The Bar Napkin Clue

Camille's first real evidence of Ben's duplicity is a bar napkin with Aubrey's name, number, and address—found in Ben's briefcase. Convinced of an affair, Camille confronts Aubrey, only to discover a deeper connection: Ben has been investigating Aubrey, not romancing her. The link is Paul Granger, the man imprisoned for killing Aubrey's parents. Ben's interest in Aubrey is professional, not personal, and the implications are far more sinister. The napkin is a breadcrumb leading to a decade-old cover-up.

Housemates and Hidden Motives

Aubrey's housemates—Deacon, Serenity, Shane, and Eddie—are more than background characters. Each has a criminal past or present, and their loyalty to Aubrey is fierce. When Ben's interest in Aubrey becomes clear, the housemates mobilize, using their skills to protect her and gather intel. They help plant trackers, copy keys, and even hide evidence. Their involvement blurs the line between accomplice and protector, and their own secrets become entangled with the central mystery.

The Mustang Connection

Ben's purchase of a restored Mustang from Aubrey's housemates is more than a midlife crisis. It's a calculated move to get close to Aubrey and her circle, under the guise of car restoration. The Mustang becomes a symbol of Ben's duplicity and a vehicle—literally and figuratively—for secrets to change hands. When the car is delivered on the day of the murder, it draws all the suspects together and provides a crucial clue for the investigation.

Cameras in the Attic

Camille, desperate for proof of Ben's wrongdoing, plants hidden cameras throughout the house and watches from the attic as Ben meets with shady associates. She witnesses secretive conversations, the handling of mysterious files, and Ben's growing paranoia. But her surveillance is a double-edged sword: when Ben discovers the cameras, the confrontation is explosive. The footage she captures is both her salvation and her undoing, as it exposes not only Ben's crimes but her own.

The Family's Dirty Deal

Ten years earlier, a drunken Silas and Margaret crash Paul Granger's truck, killing Aubrey's parents. Ben, then a young law student, is recruited by Randall Everett to provide Silas with an alibi in exchange for a place in the family and a future with Camille. The cover-up is orchestrated by Chief Foster, who manipulates evidence and witness statements. The deal binds Ben, Silas, and Margaret together in a conspiracy that will haunt them all. The truth, long buried, is the rot at the heart of the Bayliss marriage.

The Past Unraveled

As Camille and Aubrey dig deeper, the true events of the night of the crash emerge. Margaret, not Silas, was driving. Foster, facing his own mortality, tries to make amends by sending evidence to Aubrey. The USB drive hidden in a jewelry box contains the surveillance footage that could exonerate Paul and implicate the real culprits. The revelation shatters the fragile alliances among the characters and sets off a chain reaction of violence and betrayal.

The Safe and the Key

Ben's final act is a frantic attempt to retrieve the incriminating video from Foster's gun safe. He enlists a PI and goes to great lengths to obtain a replacement key, but when the safe is finally opened, it's empty. The evidence has already changed hands, and Ben's enemies are closing in. The safe becomes a symbol of all the secrets that can't be contained, and the empty space inside is a metaphor for the futility of trying to control the past.

The Real Driver Revealed

The video from the USB drive reveals that Margaret, not Silas, was behind the wheel the night of the crash. Silas, who has lived with the guilt for years, is devastated by the truth. Margaret's actions—her manipulation, her silence, her willingness to let others suffer for her crime—are finally exposed. The revelation destroys what's left of the Everett family and provides the closure Aubrey has sought for a decade, but at a terrible cost.

The Knife in the Drawer

As the investigation into Ben's death stalls, a bloody knife engraved with his initials is planted in Aubrey's room. The police arrive with a warrant, but Aubrey's housemates have already hidden the evidence. The frame-up is the work of Detective Sullivan, who is revealed to be the true villain—a corrupt cop with ties to the original cover-up. The knife is both a literal and symbolic weapon, wielded to silence the truth and protect the powerful.

The Detective's True Face

Detective Sullivan, once seen as a dogged investigator, is unmasked as the architect of multiple crimes. He threatens Aubrey, attempts to kill her, and is only stopped when Deacon intervenes, killing Sullivan in self-defense. The revelation that Sullivan was Foster's nephew and accomplice ties together the threads of corruption, cover-up, and murder. The system that protected the guilty is finally brought down from within.

The Final Confession

With Sullivan dead and the evidence in hand, the characters must decide what justice looks like. Silas arranges for Margaret's death to look like an accident, meting out his own form of retribution. Paul Granger is exonerated, but the cost is high. Camille, finally free from her marriage and her family's grip, chooses to start over. Aubrey, having found the truth about her parents, must decide what to do with it. The confessions—spoken and unspoken—are the only way forward.

Justice, Southern Style

In the aftermath, the old power structures are dismantled. Hank takes over the law firm, vowing to run it with integrity. Silas assumes control of the family business, promising reform but acknowledging the stains that can never be washed away. Aubrey and Deacon, bonded by trauma and loyalty, find solace in each other. The story ends not with perfect justice, but with a reckoning—a uniquely Southern blend of vengeance, forgiveness, and survival.

Characters

Camille Bayliss

Camille is the emotional and psychological center of the novel—a woman suffocated by her marriage to Ben and the expectations of her powerful family. Her journey is one of awakening: from passive participant in her own life to active agent of her destiny. Psychoanalytically, Camille is torn between loyalty and self-preservation, guilt and desire. Her alliance with Aubrey is both a cry for help and a calculated move to secure her future. As the truth about her family's crimes and her own complicity emerges, Camille is forced to confront the cost of survival in a world where love, loyalty, and justice are always for sale.

Aubrey Price

Aubrey is defined by loss—her parents' deaths, her stolen childhood, her struggle to find meaning in a world that has always been hostile. Her psychological drive is for closure, but also for connection; her found family of housemates is her anchor. Aubrey's involvement in Camille's scheme is motivated by both desperation and hope. As she uncovers the truth about her parents' deaths and faces the threat of being framed for murder, Aubrey's resilience and resourcefulness shine. Her relationship with Deacon offers a glimpse of healing, but her journey is ultimately about reclaiming her own narrative.

Ben Bayliss

Ben is the catalyst for the novel's events—a man whose ambition, charm, and willingness to do anything for success make him both victim and villain. His relationship with Camille is transactional, built on mutual need and shared secrets. Ben's complicity in the original cover-up, his manipulation of those around him, and his final, desperate acts reveal a man undone by his own machinations. Psychologically, Ben is a study in the corrupting influence of power and the self-destructive nature of guilt.

Hank Landry

Hank is Ben's law partner and Camille's protector, a man whose sense of justice is tested by the moral ambiguity of those around him. His own alibi is shaky, and his financial gain from Ben's death makes him a suspect. Hank's psychological struggle is between duty and desire, loyalty and self-interest. As he takes over the firm and helps unravel the truth, Hank becomes a symbol of the possibility—and limits—of redemption.

Silas Everett

Silas is Camille's younger brother, burdened by guilt for a crime he didn't commit but believed he did. His relationship with Margaret is toxic, defined by shared secrets and mutual destruction. Silas's psychological arc is one of self-loathing and reluctant leadership; he is both victim and enforcer of the family's code. His ultimate decision to mete out justice to Margaret is both an act of love and a perpetuation of the cycle of violence.

Margaret Everett

Margaret is the novel's most complex antagonist—a woman who lets others suffer for her crime, who weaponizes her beauty and vulnerability, and who ultimately pays the price for her actions. Her relationship with Silas is a mirror of Camille and Ben's: transactional, toxic, and doomed. Margaret's psychological profile is one of narcissism and denial, but also of profound fear. Her death is both justice and tragedy.

Deacon

Deacon is Aubrey's closest friend and eventual love interest, a man whose loyalty is absolute and whose skills are invaluable. His criminal background is both a liability and an asset, and his willingness to risk everything for Aubrey is a testament to the power of chosen family. Psychologically, Deacon is driven by a need to atone for past sins and to protect those he loves. His confrontation with Detective Sullivan is the novel's moral climax.

Detective Nathan Sullivan

Sullivan is the embodiment of institutional rot—a man who uses his badge to cover up crimes, frame innocents, and protect the powerful. His connection to Chief Foster and the original cover-up is the key to the novel's central mystery. Psychologically, Sullivan is a sociopath, motivated by self-preservation and a belief in his own invincibility. His downfall is both inevitable and cathartic.

Chief Kevin Foster

Foster is the architect of the original cover-up, a man whose late-in-life conscience sets the plot in motion. His decision to send the incriminating video to Aubrey is an act of penance, but also of cowardice—he cannot face the consequences of his actions. Psychologically, Foster is a study in the corrosive effects of guilt and the limits of redemption.

Randall Everett

Randall is the shadowy force behind much of the novel's corruption—a man who wields power with ruthless efficiency and expects absolute loyalty from his children. His psychological profile is one of control, manipulation, and a belief in the primacy of family above all else. Randall's legacy is a world where justice is always negotiable and the past is never truly past.

Plot Devices

Dual Timelines and Perspectives

The novel employs a shifting timeline, moving between the present-day murder investigation and the events of a decade earlier. Multiple perspectives—primarily Camille and Aubrey, but also Hank, Ben, and others—allow the reader to see the same events through different lenses. This structure creates dramatic irony, as the reader often knows more than the characters, and heightens the tension as secrets are slowly revealed. The use of flashbacks, diary entries, and surveillance footage deepens the sense of mystery and inevitability.

The Alibi as Both Shield and Weapon

The central plot device is the alibi: who has one, who needs one, and who can destroy one. The swapping of identities, the manipulation of digital trails, and the planting of evidence all serve to blur the line between innocence and guilt. The alibi is not just a defense—it becomes a tool for blackmail, betrayal, and survival. The anatomy of an alibi is dissected in all its moral and practical complexity.

Foreshadowing and Red Herrings

The novel is rich in foreshadowing—cryptic conversations, seemingly innocuous objects (the bar napkin, the Mustang, the jewelry box) that later become crucial. Red herrings abound, as suspicion shifts from character to character. The true villain is hidden in plain sight, and the final revelations are both surprising and inevitable.

The Southern Gothic Setting

The setting—small-town Louisiana, with its decaying mansions, insular families, and oppressive heat—serves as both backdrop and character. The landscape is haunted by history, and the social hierarchies and codes of silence are as much obstacles to justice as any individual villain. The Southern Gothic tradition infuses the novel with a sense of fatalism and dark humor.

Analysis

Ashley Elston crafts a narrative that is both propulsive and psychologically rich, using the mechanics of the alibi to explore deeper questions of identity, loyalty, and complicity. The novel's structure—shifting timelines, multiple perspectives, and a relentless unspooling of revelations—mirrors the characters' own struggles to piece together the past and make sense of the present. At its heart, the book is about the stories we tell ourselves to survive: the lies we accept, the truths we bury, and the moments when we are forced to choose between protecting ourselves and doing what is right. In a world where the law is just another tool for the powerful, true justice is messy, personal, and often unsatisfying. Yet, in the bonds of chosen family and the courage to face the past, Elston finds a glimmer of hope—a reminder that even in the darkest places, the truth can still set us free, if only we are brave enough to claim it.

Last updated: January 14, 2026