Maureen F. McHugh wryly and delicately examines the impacts of social and technological shifts on families. Using beautiful, deceptively simple prose, she illuminates the relationship between parents and children and the expected and unexpected chasms that open between generations.

- A woman introduces her new lover to her late brother.

- A teenager is interviewed about her peer group's attitudes toward sex and baby boomers.

- A missing stepson sets a marriage on edge.

- Anthropologists visiting an isolated outpost mission are threatened by nomadic raiders.

McHugh's characters -- her Alzheimers-afflicted parents or her smart and rebellious teenagers -- are always recognizable: stubborn, human, and heartbreakingly real.

The trade paperback has added material for book clubs and reading groups, including an interview with the author, book club questions and suggestions, and a reprint of Maureen's fabulous essay, "The Evil Stepmother."