The September Girls – Leila, Molly, and J.J. – plan a reunion in Las Vegas. They haven’t seen each other since graduating from college, 20 years ago. After catching up over lots of drinks, they combine their birth date numbers (they were all born in September, hence the nickname) and purchase a Dealin’ Dice lottery ticket. After a fun filled weekend, they head home – Leila to Los Angeles, Molly to Savannah, and J.J. to St. Louis. Leila, entrusted with the ticket – Molly and J.J. never believed they would actually win – checks the numbers and is shocked to learn they have won!
Before Leila calls Molly and J.J., she comes up with a plan. Shea Daniels’ company, Windfall, helps people who have come into an unexpected fortune, whether through an inheritance, an insurance settlement, a lawsuit, or, of course, winning the lottery. “People who are born rich know how to manage it, but regular people need professional help,” Leila tells her live-in boyfriend, Gib.
After Leila shares the good news with her friends, they agree to work with Shea. Doing so means traveling to Shea’s home, an isolated mansion located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. The mansion has a troubling history since it was once owned by a popular actress, Chantal Charbonneau, who mysteriously disappeared. Did she create a new identity to escape pressure from the media? Or did she end her life by jumping into the ocean? Shea inherited the estate from her parents who once worked for Chantel as caretakers. But theories about what happened to Chantel continue to fascinate the public and are the focus of a podcast, “Disappearing Acts,” hosted by Riley Robertson.
Because Molly and J.J. can’t reveal they’ve won the lottery – Shea’s advice passed on by Leila – they avoid calling anyone before they leave. That means Molly, who is a single mom, must bring along her infant son, Dawson, rather than leaving him with her parents. Before setting off for Shea’s home, Leila goes to the bank, placing the winning ticket in a safe deposit box.
The meeting is ill timed since wildfires are moving up the California coast. Shea, assisted by one of her staff, Justin, and Beck, who handles security, prepares the house for the trio’s arrival. Food and alcohol are stocked, rooms prepared, and even a nursery set up for Dawson. Despite these amenities, the mansion remains dark and foreboding, certainly backing up one of Robertson’s conspiracy theories that Chantal’s ghost is present.
While Leila, J.J., and Molly were good friends in college, their lives have changed and each one is hiding secrets. Money is an issue with all three women, making the lottery win even more critical. When Leila disappears, J.J. and Molly wonder if she has absconded with the winning ticket or met the same fate as Chantal. When the fires leave them trapped and none of their cell phones work, paranoid sets in. Molly and J.J. begin to suspect that Shea and Beck are plotting to kill them and claim the jackpot.
In Wendy Corsi Staub’s Windfall, the lottery jackpot could help each woman’s financial stability, but will it buy them happiness? And will they live to spend the money? Something to think about when you buy that next lottery ticket.
Windfall
Wendy Corsi Staub
Top photo: Bigstock
