The Forgotten Child is a book full of emotional intensity that carries the reader into Emily's world where she is fed up with her no-good husband and decides the time has come to make a long-needed change. She takes her daughter Katy and hires on as housekeeper, nanny and cook for Brad who is a rancher and a father to an autistic son. It takes Emily some time to make Brad aware that the problems with his son are medical ones and that he needs special care and attention. Just as Emily settles into her position in the house and into a budding romantic role with her boss, his runaway wife returns and upsets the whole apple cart. Poor Emily is ousted and humiliated until Brad sees what's really going on and takes steps to straighten out the mess in his life. Until the end, a lot of heartache and trauma happen that force the reader to keep turning the pages.