It's the summer of 2016, the opioid crisis is hitting New Hampshire hard, and tiny Lawson is not exempt. New Chief of Police Winslow Jennings is already being challenged by it when the epidemic strikes shockingly close to home.

However, the Jennings have it easy compared to their young cousin Megan Cantwell. She's just come home to hunt for her first job out of college when her whole life blows up. In the aftermath, she offers a home to the daughters of a local preacher's son who's struggling with recovery. She'd squashed her unrequited feelings for him long ago, but she can't help rooting for him and his two little girls now.

This may be her second chance at romance, but she'd have to be crazy to get involved with a heroin addict. Wouldn't she?

How far should forgiveness go? How do we avoid crossing the line between supporting those we love and enabling them? In THE UTTER CATASTROPHE, Sandra Hutchison applies her trademark warmth and wit to the wrenching dilemmas of families coping with addiction and loss — and hoping against hope for a happy ending.