This early American classic is chock-full of juicy intrigue - enough to keep us reading past our bedtime with a flashlight. Hester Prynne is a single mom living in mid-17th century Boston. Scorned and rejected by Puritan society for having borne a child out of wedlock (by a mystery man), Hester leads a solitary and lonely life. But when her deepest, darkest secrets collide, things begin to change.