Zoe and Max Baxter have spent years and thousands of dollars trying to have a baby. There have been pregnancies but none with a happy ending. And now they know there will be no babies for them.
Zoe finds comfort in her music. As a music therapist she knows the power of music to heal. But it takes time. Max finds his comfort in an old addiction, when he drinks he forgets. Both are lost in their grief and so is their marriage.
The story of the next chapter of their lives is told alternately by Zoe and Max and Zoe’s new friend. Both Zoe and Max change as they find their way to new lives and loves. They are surprised and angered as their plans for the future, without each other, unfold.
The betrayal they feel leads to terrible conflict. They own something that was not addressed in the divorce and now they both want it. It cannot be divided between them. In court one will win and one will lose. Both will pay a price and hearts will be broken.
And, as with all of Picoult’s novels, the last chapter is not what you expect.
Black Cat Book Review 