Peter Jericho has spent most of his adult life living for God and serving his country as a Marine. Just before getting the orders for his third assignment in Iraq, his once solid marriage suddenly takes a turn for the worse, prompting his wife, Jan, and their twelve-year-old daughter, Kyla, to leave their family home on the Marine base and permanently relocate to Atlanta to live with Jan’s mother in an infamous community called Shelton Heights.

As his tour of duty nears an end, he decides that it is the perfect time to say goodbye to military life and focus on reclaiming the family he loves so dearly. Then disaster strikes, and his plans are abruptly interrupted when Peter finds himself a prisoner of war …

Rising from a life of poverty, Hunter Green is a staunch businessman, a workaholic with three jobs to keep his life busy and fulfilled. As the owner of the Atlanta Weekly Chronicles, he heads the most successful weekly newspaper in the state of Georgia. As a single parent, he takes pride in his son and devoted his time to being the best father he can be. And as the owner of Greene Pastures, he breeds champion horses that sell at top dollar.

When the story breaks that one of Atlanta’s most prominent and respected pastors has been killed in a fiery automobile accident, Hunter stands to lose everything when the deceased pastor’s distraught daughter, Jade Tides, convinces him that it wasn’t an accident, but murder. Hunter uses the power of the written word, his very own newspaper, to try to solve the mystery, but the entire community threatens to take away its support if he doesn’t discontinue the features. They accuse Hunter of using the pastor’s untimely death as a ploy for greater financial gain and accuse him of making a mockery of God and the memory of Reverend B. T. Tides.

In the midst of it all, Hunter falls hard for Jade Tides. She’s everything he desires in a woman. But is she and the so-called mystery surrounding her father’s death worth losing everything for, or has the legend of Shelton Heights caught up with yet another unsuspecting family?

At age forty-five, Dr. Neil Taylor is an eligible bachelor, living a seemingly satisfied existence as a deacon of his church and director of Kingdom Builder’s Academy. But despite outward appearances, Neil harbors secret pains that have caused him to erect a well-constructed wall of defense around his heart.

Everything changes, however, when Shaylynn Ford, a beautiful young mother, strolls through the doors of his office. There’s a marked difference in their ages, but the years that separate them are the least of Neil’s worries.

Shaylynn is his God-given soul mate. Neil is certain of it. But even with all the prayers in the world, how can he get her to love him when she’s already wearing a wedding ring?

Lieutenant Stuart Lyons is a single father and a well-respected veteran law enforcement officer. In addition, he serves as head of security at the ever-popular New Hope Church in Atlanta and above all, he loves the Lord. When sudden pandemonium strikes his “normal” life and he begins receiving threats from an unknown person who only identifies himself as “Dr. A. H. Satan,” Stuart’s life is turned upside down. This faceless stalker seems to know everything about Stuart: where he lives, where he works, where he worships, who his friends are, and, most unsettling of all, that he has a son whom he adores.

A series of disturbing events sends the Dekalb County Police Department into overdrive, trying to find the recently released, elusive madman who is now suspected of seeking long-awaited revenge on the officer who was responsible for putting him behind bars. Bizarre happenings—some explainable and others that yet remain mysteries—have been known to find their way into the lives of many of the residents of the infamous Shelton Heights subdivision, and apparently, it’s now Stuart’s turn. Will his faith and the prayers of the righteous help put an end to his distress, or will the Legend of Shelton Heights swallow him whole?

Number one Essence best-selling authors Kendra Norman-Bellamy and Hank Stewart present this long-awaited sequel to their immensely popular Three Fifty-seven A.M. Essie Mae Richardson means the world to the residents of the Braxton Park subdivision. So when she dies, all the hard work she did to rebuild fraying relationships and bolster broken families begins coming undone. But there are some who won’t let her efforts go to waste, and they will fight to keep this angel’s legacy alive.

It’s been a year since the death of Ms. Essie Mae Richardson, the seventy-seven-year-old pillar of the Braxton Parks community. Before her untimely demise, Essie’s prayers brought redemption to many of her neighborhood’s problems; but now the impact of her death and the unfinished business that it left behind is threatening to unravel all that she prayed so hard for God to mend.

While Colin Stephens still enjoys a blissful marriage to his wife, Angel, unbeknownst to him, she is wrestling with the guilt and regret of never saying goodbye to the woman she loved like a mother. And while their guards are down, a voice from Ms. Essie’s past steps in and threatens to steal the security that the Stephenses have taken for granted.

To Jennifer’s relief, her fifteen-year-old son, Jerrod, was saved from gang-related activities by Ms. Essie’s love and guidance. But now, just when it seems that the teenager is on a winning track, he’s blindsided by more trouble than the streets could have ever offered.

Essie Mae Richardson is an elderly, wise, and church-going soul. She lives alone, but spends most of her time worrying about those around her. Using God’s guidance and wisdom picked up over the years, she keeps an eye on things happening around her, and when the time is right, she reaches out to those who don’t even know they need her.

Quite innocently, Ms. Essie touches three families, each in her own special way, causing them to reflect on her words, giving them the love, prayers, and good home-cooked meals needed to help them realize the importance of life. It is through this family-like environment that they meet and form a relationship with themselves, and later, with each other.

An ex-con learns the hard way that it’s better to be with God than without. Deon “Rocky” Rockford is released after spending time in jail. He may have been “saved” on the inside, but now his term has been overturned. He is also free from the shackles of the prayers of the men’s ministry of the New Hope Church, and wants only to focus on himself. Fearless and strong, this big guy won several fights behind bars, and feels ready to forge a new life in Shelton Heights. Soon he will see that the only “rock” he can count on is God.

Could Shaylynn Ford be the perfect woman for Neil Taylor? Neil certainly thinks so. The problem is, he’s pretty sure he’s not her perfect man—that was her husband, Emmett, a wealthy politician who was assassinated eight years ago.

Neil, the director of a Christian school, is gifted with a singing voice that can heal the sick and bring souls to Christ, but his own soul is burdened by his insecurities and past indiscretions. He feels like he’s in competition with the memory of Emmett—and Neil’s desperation to win Shaylynn’s heart may lead him to do something he may regret.

Meanwhile, Shay herself is head over heels for Neil, and she just wishes he would open up to her. It may take a miracle to make Neil’s heart sing again.