Bishop Julian Houston of the New Liberty Baptist Church and First Lady Jewel dated during their teenage years and married after graduation. Together they had five children. Years later they realize they are no longer attracted to each other and have no desire to remain married. But by this time they are in too deep. They face strong family and community ties and must keep many secrets from both friends and relatives, ending up with a mountain of lies. Their leadership role at church makes things even more complicated. So Julian and Jewel decide to keep up the pretense of their marriage in public while they remain in the limelight, thus retaining their good image, but in private to pursue their own lives as they wish. But their shocking hidden secrets and many lies are eventually exposed, blowing up their world to accusations of living double lives and committing adultery, forcing them to re-examine their past mistakes and live with the grave consequences and dire regrets.
The underlying message is that you should always remember to live only in truth, and if you get to a place of uncertainty or see the signs of deception, it's time to do some soul-searching and find your way back to your truth. People who attend church sometimes create false façades which they present to the world. It's easy to forget that we are only human and make mistakes, but no one should continue to live a life full of lies.