Cecily is unhappy with her life, Beau, her brother, has moved on, their father is dying and Verona, their mother, who used to be a beautiful woman is not growing old gracefully. The narrator of the book is a middle-aged novelist who is having a nervous breakdown. As she exits the latest break from reality there is an undercurrent of secrets and lies in the fragments that she writes. Her characters have troubled lives and split personalities. As she tries to put her life back together she begins to write a story with a younger version of herself in her latest novel. The narrator is unhappy with herself and how her life turned out. Cecily is unhappy with herself and how her life turns out on the page. The diarist finds the way out. She finds restoration on the page and through living through these characters vicariously. Her faculties and energies are renewed and she is once again restored to health. The book is about hope and that overwhelming grief can be overcome.