Dwight knows he is in trouble. Shooting down the same back road, vision impaired by a broken headlamp, he worries about losing his hard-won visitation rights with a son he adores. As suddenly as breath, Ethan emerges from the store in time to see Dwight's car strike Josh, killing him instantly, then speed away into the night. At this point, the complete devastation of three lives begins. The second novel by John Burnham Schwartz is a magnificent study in character, suspense and the revelation of the human heart.
Every chapter reveals more of each character's nature and internal demons.
As each deals with his or her private demons, each draws more and more into an insulting cocoon of grief and guilt. Dwight's fear of discovery vies with his need to be found out, punished for something he knows will keep him away from Sam forever. Grace's jealousy of others whose lives have not been so crushed destroys her ego, even her personality. But overriding all is Ethan's futile cry for justice, even for revenge. Or else there is only the desert of grief and one's own footsteps upon it.