From acclaimed author Marcia Simpson comes a moving, suspenseful tale about a single mother eking out a hardscrabble existence in a small Alaskan town who must rise above her emotionally stormy life-if she is to keep her family from being torn apart.

Failed relationships, family misfortunes-and an escalating alcohol and drug habit-have Jess talking out loud to herself more than to her children. Ten-year-old Tom already knows the whispered family secrets, and is getting old enough to want to discuss them. His older brother, Bo, is a sullen, combative teenager-with a surprisingly mature desire for a stable, loving relationship. And little Toby squeals with delight whenever she's hugged-but at three can't speak or dress herself.

As her tenuous grip loosens, Jess is unavailable to her children when they need her the most-and seemingly unable to set herself right again. Then, a confrontation over an eight-hundred dollar Alaskan oil dividend check, a small fortune in this struggling household, triggers a chain of events that will bring on the most difficult challenge of their lives-with results that none of them could have ever imagined.