Three years after leaving Lake Gormlaith, Vermont, Effie Greer is coming home to rebuild the life she once had. The unspoiled lake, surrounded by dense woods, is the place where she spent idyllic childhood summers at her grandparents' cottage. And it's where Effie's tempestuous relationship with her college boyfriend, Max, culminated in tragedy. Effie had hoped to save him from his troubled past, and in the process became his victim... Wrenching yet ultimately uplifting, here is a novel of survival, from a writer of extraordinary insight and depth.