From the dark days of WWII to present-day North Carolina, this New
York Times bestseller shares the lives of two couples overcoming
destructive secrets -- and finding joy together.
Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and
injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a
blurry image materializes beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed
away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain
alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they
met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of
WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth
can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and
his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their
marriage.
A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College
senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up,
Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little
resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school.
Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of
survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death - loom
large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds
herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that
Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping doesn't
destroy it first.
Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common,
and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will
converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most
difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair,
beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.
