Includes reading guide.

"In the last weeks of 1989, a fender-bender breaks the silence on an icy dark road outside Dalton, Maine -- setting in motion events that will ripple throughout the town in ways no one can foresee. As a rule, nothing much changes in Dalton. Rose goes to the diner, hiding bruises from her customers. At a nearby table, Richard reflects on the choice that's charted his life. His wife, Trudy, and her best friend Bev continue the romance that exists within their long friendship -- a secret known and ignored by their husbands. Bridget and Nate are raising their newborn daughter after a difficult birth, and on the edge of town, newcomer and aspiring writer Alice struggles to fit in. When the consequences of the accident play out, the community is left reeling. In the aftermath, their own problems reveal a deeper knowledge of the lives of their neighbors -- reminding us no one is exactly who we think they are."--provided by publisher.