"Lakeland, New York, was once a world of bustling mills, proud residents, and miles of ruggedly beautiful coastline. Now it's another small Northeastern town whose pulse stopped beating years ago, where those with any ambition leave and rarely return. Close friends Jack Lambeau and Steven Turner find themselves entwined in the town's latest and most promising efforts at revival. Jack is the prodigal son returned; the Ivy League-educated urban-design expert brought back to reinvent Lakeland as a tasteful mecca for tourists and restless urbanites. Turner is the exiled local reporter who will bear witness to the town's successes and failures. Between them come Jack's fiancee, Anne, an artist with secrets of her own, and his undisciplined brother, Harris, hired to bury the missteps of the past that might derail his brother's plans.". "As the unforgiving winter nears, personal and local tensions mount. A baby is born; a body must be disposed of; one friend must betray another. And as the town struggles to create a new identity, these four characters must find their way through their own unexpected transformations, as well as attempt to answer the question that plagues us all: What is the price of loyalty, goodness, and love?"--BOOK JACKET.