Reckless and passionate, Eleanor is a bohemian artist with a weakness for the pretty models she sculpts. When she moves from urban Seattle to a sleepy suburb, she forges an unexpected friendship with Laurel, a Fundamentalist Christian mother of six. As their connection deepens, Eleanor realizes that Laurel's family is not as perfect as it seems, and that the most dangerous lessons are sometimes learned at home. Known in the United States as a poet, Carol Guess uses lyrical language and multiple narrative voices to bring Eleanor's story to a startling conclusion.