Lifelines

Carrie Hojem, a thirty-year-old hard-working artist and creative director at Fashions Consolidated, is torn. Her lengthy romance with Jack Nielson is rapidly collapsing, but her biological clock is ticking loudly. Haunted by recurring dreams of a child who calls her "Mama," Carrie knows she needs a new plan-now.

Buoyed by the map for her future that she and her physician devise, Carrie ends her relationship with Jack and throws herself into life after love by dating two men-Bruno, an actor, and Jake, a veterinarian. Never in her wildest dreams does she anticipate the better plan that soon prevails or the unspeakable tragedy that deepens her appreciation of new love. Throughout her journey, Carrie has the support of her best friend who would gladly take Bruno off her hands; her brother whose sense of humor regularly veers out-ofbounds; and her parents, whose perspective on an aunt's disaster during World War II unexpectedly provides them with an appreciation of Carrie's plan.

Only time will tell if Carrie will find the unconditional love she has been seeking-from both a lover and the child she dreams of at night.