Shreve's latest novel captures an actual moment in time. In October 1947, coastal Maine suffered the largest wildfires in the state's history. Young wife and mother, Grace Holland, is left alone when her husband goes off to fight the fires. The marriage isn't a particularly happy one, so it's something of a relief to have him gone at first. But when the fire is bearing down on her home, Grace has no one to help her as she struggles to save the lives of her own family and her best friend's. With a strength and resourcefulness she didn't know she had, Grace must overcome her despair and her lack of skills to take care of her family. Just as Grace begins to thrive in her new life, the past comes roaring back and threatens to drag her back down into a new form of misery. Shreve is a very talented author. Her prose here is beautiful in its simplicity as we follow Grace through the many upheavals in her life.