Martha Cade is a midwife in the town of Trinity in 1830s Pennsylvania. Recently reunited with her estranged seven-teen--year-old daughter, Martha finds herself torn between guiding her child and allowing her to be an adult. And the town of Trinity itself is fraught with secrets: As a midwife, Martha knows which families are troubled, which wives are unhappy, and which husbands have crossed the line from discipline to abuse...As Martha struggles with the conflicts of being a mother, a midwife, and a woman, she learns the great-est lessons of all-that hope can shine even in the dark-est hours, and that faith has a way of making the impossible possible.