After the precipitous deaths of his doting parents, Nick Austen grows up in a home for boys. When he finds his first love, Dore, he settles into domestic bliss. But when another tragedy occurs, he struggles to protect himself against further loss by creating a powerful second, secret family, which could ensure his survival--or his demise.
​
"A good read and a fine novel." Boston Sunday Globe
"The characters are true and their feelings are significant. Ms. Leavitt makes it impossible not to risk all our emotional involvement." The Atlanta Journal & Constitution
"There is no denying this author's talents. Leavitt has a wonderful understanding of the minutiae that characterizes relationships." New York Times Book Review
"An appealing tale about family, belonging, home and what it means, live at the warm heart of this novel about love in the life of a man searching for what he lost in childhood." Kirkus Reviews