Introducing… In Plain Sight
A novel about what we think we know
This book began as a writing workshop assignment.
It was meant to be contained. Something I’d complete, submit, and set aside. But once it started to take shape, it refused to stay small. One scene led to another, the questions widened, I kept writing because the story kept opening.
In Plain Sight is a novel about proximity. About the hushed danger of assuming that closeness equals understanding. About how observation turns into interpretation, and how concern, left unchecked, can slowly become control.
And now, I’m ready to share it!
About the story
At its heart, In Plain Sight follows a small group of women living on a nearly invisible cul-de-sac who believe they know one another simply because they share space.
They see each other every day, they track routines, they notice shifts and fill in the blanks.
When a minor incident involving a child unsettles the street, those private interpretations begin to calcify into public narratives. Attention sharpens. Assumptions harden. Efforts to “make sense of things” quietly cause harm.
Nothing dramatic happens, no villain steps forward.
The tension lives elsewhere. In emails sent too quickly, conversations that linger, glances that carry meaning long after they pass. In the quiet consequences of saying something before understanding it fully.
In Plain Sight asks a simple, unsettling question, what happens when proximity is mistaken for understanding?
The women at the center
The novel unfolds through a handful of women who share a street, and very little else.
Claire believes that careful observation prevents problems. She notices early, he explains often, she intervenes quickly. As the neighborhood’s unease grows, her need to manage only deepens the misreadings.
Hannah is learning to trust her own perception, even when it disrupts the comfort of others.
Nina refuses to take on emotional labor that isn’t hers to carry.
Maribel moves through the street without explanation, unsettling expectations simply by not offering one.
Each woman responds to the same moment, each assigns it a different meaning. And each is convinced she’s right.
What this book is (and isn’t)
In Plain Sight is not a traditional thriller. It isn’t driven by twists or revelations.
Instead, it’s a psychological, literary novel about social dynamics, motherhood, fear, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to feel secure.
It’s about how quickly care becomes narrative. How easily attention turns into authority. And how much harm can be done quietly, without anyone ever raising their voice.
If you’re drawn to novels that live in the tension of the everyday, where meaning is carried through implication, silence, and aftermath, this book is for you.
In Plain Sight is a weekly fiction serial, published every Monday beginning February 2, 2026.
Why I wrote this
I’m drawn to stories where the surface appears calm, even ordinary, while everything underneath is shifting.
I wanted to explore the subtle mechanics of group behavior. The expectations placed on women to monitor, interpret, and manage one another. The way certainty can masquerade as care. The way good intentions don’t absolve us from impact.
This book isn’t interested in conclusions, it’s interested in attention.
Why publish to Substack
I chose this format very intentionally.
I love the idea of reading alongside others, letting a story breathe, and giving each chapter time to settle before moving on. Weekly fiction mirrors real emotional growth, incremental, imperfect, shaped by what comes before.
Publishing on Substack makes that kind of storytelling possible. Instead of waiting for a finished book, the story gets to live in the open, unfolding chapter by chapter, in conversation with its readers.
You’re welcome to read quietly, you’re welcome to comment, reflect, and speculate, both are part of the experience.
How to read along
New chapters publish every Monday
The first chapter arrives February 2, 2026
Each chapter is designed to be read in one sitting
Comments will be open for those who want to read in community
There’s no pressure to keep up perfectly. You can always return, reread, or catch up later.
A note to you
If you love emotionally precise, unsettling novels, stories that trust the reader, resist spectacle, and linger long after the final page, I hope In Plain Sight finds its way to you.
This is a book meant to be read slowly, to be sat with, to surface in unexpected moments afterward.
Thank you for being here, and for reading alongside me as I bring this work into the open.
I’m excited (and a little nervous) to share this work publicly, week by week. Thank you for being here at the beginning. I can’t wait to read alongside you.
In Plain Sight
Now, finally, visible.
See you Monday, February 2nd.
The Second Act is an entirely reader-supported publication written and created by Danielle Wraith. Click here to subscribe or gift a friend a subscription here (if a friend sent you this —tell them thanks!). Anything you want covered? Questions? Reply with a comment below! You can also find me on Instagram. Please come say hi!
What a great concept. I can’t wait to read it!
I am so excited for this!