Third grade teacher, Lily Robinson, loves other people's children because it's safe. Early in life she learned to protect her heart and not get hurt. The only person she allows to get close is lifelong friend, Crystal and by extension, her three children.

This year Crystal's daughter, Charlie, is one of Lily's students and she's in trouble. A scheduled parent teacher conference with Crystal and her ex-husband PGA golfer, Derek is bound to be an emotional meeting, but Lily hopes the couple can set aside their bitterness with each other to focus on Charlie's needs.

Sean Macguire, Derek's step-brother, a carefree bachelor working at the local country club while trying to re-start his own PGA career gives his nephew a ride home since his mother hasn't come to pick him up. After hearing the answering machine messages he becomes concerned that both of the kids' parents are out of touch and starts making some calls including one to Lily.

Lily and Sean seem to be opposites that are drawn together by a tragic accident and their devotion to the children. Raising a family isn't easy and Sean might not be able to make it on his own. And Lily realizes by protecting herself from hurt, she may have missed out on the best life has to offer.

Table for Five is a moving story about family going through, surviving, and learning to live again after a tragedy no one wants to contemplate could ever happen to them. Susan Wiggs develops characters that could be our neighbors, friends or even ourselves and guides them along letting them discover what is really important in life and how to also deal with the small stuff.