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.
Fifteen years after graduation, best friends Jay, Franny,
Emerson, and Stevie meet at their college reunion. Life has
taken each of them in different directions -- Jay is a
married man with a baby on the way while Franny yearns for a
child as she searches for love in all the wrong places.
Divorced single mom Emerson is drawn to a man who challenges
everything she's come to believe about finding a
once-in-a-lifetime love. And Stevie's life has recently been
rocked by a shocking revelation -- the answer to a family
secret that will shatter everything she believes about herself.
Now the bond between the foursome takes a surprising twist,
one that changes how each feels about family and friendship.
One thing is certain: They will all find their heart's
desires in the last place they imagine -- as they discover
that family is less about blood ties than the warm embrace
of ones who accept them as they are.