"Penny Reed is taking her first tentative steps toward independence. Until now, her world has been narrowly defined - by her devout grandmother, Mattie, and the rigid doctrine of their church. On the other side of the city, Hannah Solace, an assistant principal of the local high school, is pregnant for the first time at the age of forty. Her husband, Carl, an artist who runs the bookstore at the town mall, is ecstatic and sees the pregnancy as a chance to rekindle their faltering marriage.

But Hannah's fears about motherhood and the memories of her own painful childhood run deep, and without telling Carl, she decides to terminate the pregnancy. At the local clinic, Hannah, Carl, and Penny come face-to-face: This single stroke of fate will have profound reverberations, forcing each of them to reevaluate everything they have come to believe about love, motherhood, and family."--BOOK JACKET.