Jerry Battle's family is large, multicultural, and riddled with problems. His Korean wife drowned in the swimming pool 20 years ago. He has broken up with his longtime Puerto Rican girlfriend, whom he misses. His daughter, pregnant by her Asian-American boyfriend, has a life-threatening illness. His son is a bit of a wastrel. And his elderly father is frustrated by the "assisted living center" where he has been forced to move. To get away from it all, Jerry goes up in his private plane--an indulgence that, he realizes as events move to a conclusion, is not the way to deal with the complications of a rich life. A New York Times Notable Book for 2004.

Honor Donovan has arrived at her brother Kyle's deserted cabin on Puget Sound, desperate to prove that Kyle is neither dead nor the thief of a fortune in stolen amber. Keeping her mission secret, Honor hires fishing guide Jake Mallory to help her search for Kyle. But Honor doesn't know that dashing Jake is already heavily involved in the amber scheme, and has his own secret mission in mind.

An abused wife named Frannie leaves home with her young son, and lives under a new identity in Florida, where she tries to make a comfortable life for the two of them. She is always in fear that her husband will find her, however, and ultimately he does, but Frannie is resilient, and survives to go on to a new life.

A woman is caught between loyalty to a dear friend and her growing attraction to her friend's fiance.