When is it time to say goodbye?

For twelve years Ann McCray has not had a kiss from her husband or heard him say, "I love you." He has been in a coma since a tragic car accident, and now Ann is approaching forty, childless in their dream house. When she took her vows of "in sickness and in health," she never imagined this.

Tom Nash has just moved in next door with his teenaged daughter. Back in his glory days, Tom knew how to pitch a no-hitter, but he's never been good with women. His purple-haired daughter Mer baffles him more than anyone. She needs some maternal guidance, and she's not getting it from her self-absorbed mother.

As Ann finds herself drawn to Tom and his daughter, there may be hope for a new life with her new neighbor-if she can reconcile the dividing lines between love and loyalty.

• January 2012 Indie Next List
• December 2011 Indie Next List
• November 2011 Indie Next List