"A spare ... [and] bittersweet ... story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future"-- In Holt, Colorado, widower Louis Waters is initially thrown when the widowed Addie Moore suggests that they spend time together, in bed, to stave off loneliness. They are soon exchanging the confidences and memories of lives now empty of family, and their hopes for the...

In a small town where people encounter each other frequently, destinies entwine easily-- and surprisingly. The McPherson brothers see the single mother they'd taken in move away to college; a young boy living alone with his grandfather helps a neighbor whose husband has left her alone to raise their daughters; a child of a disabled couple suffers indignities at school... A novel about survival, resilience, and, ultimately, hope's triumph over despair....