In her best-selling debut, commencement, j. courtney sullivan explored the complicated and contradictory landscape of female friendship. now, in her highly anticipated second novel, sullivan takes us into even richer territory, introducing four unforgettable women who have nothing in common but the fact that, like it or not, they' - re family. for the kellehers, maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old irish songs are sung around a piano. their beachfront property, won on a barroom bet after the war, sits on three acres of sand and pine nestled between stretches of rocky coast, with one tree bearing the initials a.h. at the cottage, built by kelleher hands, cocktail hour follows morning mass, nosy grandchildren snoop in drawers, and decades-old grudges simmer beneath the surface. as three generations of kelleher women descend on the property one summer, each brings her own hopes and fears. maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news