It is July 16, 1999, in Dublin, Ohio. On this day, the 13th anniversary of their wedding, Molly Bluhm and her husband, Leo, quietly follow their usual routines. Leo, a college professor, busies himself with his work and worries about his aging father; Molly, keeping close to their home, dreams about the life she once had and wonders if Leo will remember the significance of the date.
As Molly's and Leo's thoughts circle each other throughout the day, Judith Kitchen illuminates the full scope of their life together. Despite their separate musings, both-in different ways-mourn the loss of their four-year-old son who died eight years before. With echoes of Michael Cunningham's The Hours and Charles Baxter's The Feast of Love, this deeply moving novel poignantly explores grief, love, and loyalty, and the exquisite texture of an ordinary but fateful day, that turns out to be unlike any other.