It's summer on Nantucket, and as the season begins, three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local boy, home from college. Burdened with small children, unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues, the women--two sisters and one friend--make their way to the sisters' tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They're all trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed in-vitro attempts, discovered her husband's infidelity and then her own pregnancy; Brenda embarked on a passionate affair with an older student that got her fired from her prestigious job as a professor in New York; and her sister Vickie, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting as babysitter, confidant, and, eventually, something more, while the women confront their pasts and map out their futures.
When Vicki and her children join her sister, Brenda, and Vicki's best friend, Melanie, on a vacation in Nantucket, each woman brings a disturbing secret. Narrator Katie Hale's gentle voice lends itself well to expressing the trauma of Vicki's recent lung cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy treatments. And Hale is especially believable in characterizing Brenda, who is struggling to come to terms with her recent loss of tenure because of an affair with a student. Melanie is also on an emotional roller coaster, which Hale portrays energetically. She's had a successful in-vitro procedure and is delighted--only to learn that her husband is having an affair. Secondary characters Josh, a student hired to mind Vicky's children, and his girlfriend, Didi, a cunning manipulator, are also given true-to-life performances. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
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