They call themselves 'The Five' - Sally and Emily Prince, Jed and Raymond Tatro, and Donny. They spend their Tennessee childhoods trading dreams in the branches of the Castle Tree. The girls dream of elegant penthouses in Manhattan and Total Womanhood. The boys dream of heroic feats and keeping the world safe for democracy. They are certain that they are all destined for greatness.

But what actually happens to them through twenty years of growing up is just about everything they had and had not dreamed of...in the sexiest, most searingly honest novel ever to glue you to every page, reading and remembering-

Thoroughly endearing ... a big expansive book overflowing with talent and high spirits... * CHICAGO TRIBUNE *
Wildly funny, painfully serious, totally engrossing! * PLAYBOY *

Lisa Alther is the bestselling author of four novels. Born in Tennessee, she now lives in Vermont. Her website address is: http//www.rhombus.net/artvt/p_altherbkgd.htm