The murder of her husband Michael shatters successful author Kara Dolan's world. Driven by guilt and grief, she refuses to accept the police's conclusion that the shooting was random. She struggles to make sense of the unthinkable until her very public breakdown forces her to give in to her stepmother's demand to see a psychiatrist.

An investigative reporter confirms her suspicions that her husband's killer had a hidden motive and insists Kara is the only one who can uncover it. When a character from her novels goes rogue, she questions her sanity. Before she can sort out fact from fiction, more immediate problems arise: an angry fan whose hateful online messages escalate to terrifying threats and a killer who wants her out of the way.

Kara realizes she must learn to rely on herself unless she's become one of them-the unreliables.