When the dean of Lovegood Junior College for Girls decides to pair Feron and Merry as roommates in 1958, she has no way of knowing the far-reaching consequences of the match. Their fierce friendship is filled with secrets and rivalry, but neither knows that Merry is about to lose everything she grew up taking for granted, cutting their time together short. Ten years later, life has led Feron and Merry into vastly different worlds. But in this 17th novel of Gail Godwin's 50-year career, when each woman finds herself in need of the other's essence, that timeless spark between them is reignited, and their lives are about to change.