Publisher's Synopsis
The breathtaking new novel from Carol Shields, winner of the Pulitzer and Orange Prizes. All her life, it seems to Reta Winters, she has enjoyed the useful monotony of happiness. She has a loving husband, three bright daughters and supportive friends, and is experiencing growing success as a writer and translator. Then her eldest daughter suddenly withdraws from the world, abandoning university, family and loving boyfriend to sit on a street corner, uncommunicative but for a sign around her neck bearing one word, "GOODNESS". Reta is led into a desperate search for the causes of their daughter's retreat. No obvious explanation appears to fit. Warmth, passion and wisdom come together in this journey through the life of an unforgettable woman.
