Ace reporter Stevie Light has always had a nose for the latest scoop. After being shot in the head and comatose for the last 12 years, Lauren Rose has finally awakened. Her former lover, rock god Grant Tobin, is the lead suspect of the crime. However, no one but Stevie could have been more surprised to find out that she herself would become headline news! Stevie's mysterious unknown father comes to light as Grant himself, much to everyone's shock. With her new daddy in the spotlight, can Stevie build a relationship with him without compromising her reporter's credo?

On the opposite coast, Franny Richman is suffering from "pink line" jealousy -- seems that everyone she knows is happily married with children. If only she could meet the right guy and have a baby before all of her eggs shrivel up! Luckily for her, best friend Jay Gunderson and his wife, Vivienne, offer his services as sperm donor. It's simply too good to refuse; Franny and Jay have been inseparable since the moment they met, and she'd rather have him be the dad than tell her future child that he was fathered by a plastic cup. Jay's in for a double dose of parenthood -- his wife is also pregnant. Surely this won't pose any complications...right?

Emerson Fitzgibbons is a divorcee, single mom and caretaker of her dying mother. Her plate is full and there seems to be no room for men in her life, not because she can't get one, but because Emerson doesn't need or want one. Life has a funny way of surprising you though, as Emerson finds out when she meets her mother's African caretaker, Reggie. With his dark chocolate skin and velvety voice, Emerson can't help but fall for his charms. This puts Emerson's mom, Marjorie, on the critical list -- her social standing is in danger and the stress of it all certainly isn't helping her health condition. It isn't until Reggie is threatened with deportation that Emerson has some serious choices to make; find a way for Reggie to stay, or cut him loose for the sake of her dying mother.

As these four friends, Stevie, Franny, Emerson and Jay, go through one of the toughest years of their lives -- births, deaths, divorces and relationships finally coming together -- they all soon realize that they are each other's IMMEDIATE FAMILY.

Eileen Goudge has an eye for detail with this emotional story of love and loss. The timeline seems to race us through each of the character's very real issues -- and perhaps this is for the best, seeing as any further attention to detail might be more painful than good. Fans of Jennifer Weiner will find the themes of family, marriage and parenthood to be familiar, but with a refreshing twist.