The novel opens as Caroline, a local dance teacher, sits down to dinner with her husband, Tom, and the telephone rings twice in quick succession: first with the weeping of her daughter, Shaye, and secondly with the rather more ominous sound of her distraught sister, Taffy. It turns out that Shaye is weeping because she has just been proposed to (by a man of whom Caroline and Tom don't wholly approve), while Taffy is weeping because her husband has just left her. Divorce, marriage, love and fidelity are the themes of this heartwarming family romance. At its core is the solid foundation of Caroline's long marriage to Tom and her desire to see everyone around her happy. As is often the case, it takes several twists and turns to resolve the many repercussions of both announcements involving family gatherings, preparations for the wedding - and quite a lot of dance.

Jeanne Ray is a nurse, wife and mother of the novelist Ann Patchett. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.