Alice seems to be trying hard to hold her life together. She has two daughters, the youngest of which is having problems with a bully at school. Phoebe is taunting Olivia, telling her that her daddy is going to die. Alice’s husband Nathan is frequently absent on business trips for the family firm, so she is left to keep the home fires burning as well as work as an executive at the company she founded with her deceased husband Tom. Tom died suddenly, but there is no detail given about his death, only that it was an unfortunate incident. This is one of the enticing elements of the book. Teasing, with little or no more information given. In this first look, we also meet Alice’s best friend Beth, a woman who definitely has some financial problems. Finally, we meet her ex-boyfriend from high school, David. He is a real piece of work, sexually assaulting her af the close of a business meeting. All of these people set the stage for a promising closer look at a family that may be approaching a crisis, with Alice in the epicenter of the earthquake that seems to be inevitable. This is a titillating first look and I can’t wait to read the rest of the story of Alice, Nathan and their girls!