A timeless American classic rediscovered--an unforgettable saga of a heartland family

On a farm in western Missouri during the first half of the twentieth century, Matthew and Callie Soames create a life for themselves and raise four headstrong daughters. Jessica will break their hearts. Leonie will fall in love with the wrong man. Mary Jo will escape to New York. And wild child Mathy's fate will be the family's greatest tragedy. Over the decades they will love, deceive, comfort, forgive--and, ultimately, they will come to cherish all the more fiercely the bonds of love that hold the family together.

An unexpected treasure: A long-lost novel of innocence threatened, by the author of the beloved classic The Moonflower Vine

The time: 1941, at the cusp of America's entry into World War II. The place: southwest Missouri, on the edge of the Ozark Mountains. A young single woman named Allen Liles has taken a job as a junior college teacher in a small town, although she dreams of living in New York City, of dancing at recitals, of absorbing the bohemian delights of the Village. Then she encounters two young men: George, a lanky, carefree spirit, and Toby, a dark-haired, searching soul with a wary look in his eyes. Soon the three strike up an after-school friendship, bantering and debating over letters, ethics, and philosophy--innocently at first, but soon in giddy flirtation--until Allen and one of the young men push things too far, and the quiet happiness she has struggled so hard to discover is thrown into jeopardy.

In the early 1950s, Matthew Soames and his wife Callie are enjoying the end of the summer on their farm in the outskirts of Renfro, Missouri. It was on this very farm that they raised their four daughters: Jessica, the oldest; Leonie, the responsible one; Mathy, the indomitable one who abandoned her studies to marry a stunt pilot; and little Mary Jo, who left the farm when she was really young to work in television in New York. Just like every other year, three of the daughters visit their parents for a few weeks. The end of their visit elicits memories of both the good times and the bad that marked the passing of time and that seem to have dominated the lives of the four sisters. However, more significant than anything that transpired is the profound love that has kept them tied to each other all these years. "A principios de los anos cincuenta, Matthew Soames y su esposa Callie disfrutan del final del verano en su granja en las afueras de Renfro, Missouri. Fue en esa misma granja donde criaron a sus cuatro hijas: Jessica, la mayor; Leonie, la mas responsable; Mathy, la indomita, quien dejo sus estudios para casarse con un piloto acrobatico; y la pequena Mary Jo, quien abandono la granja muy joven para trabajar en la television en Nueva York. Al igual que todos los anos, tres de las hijas acuden a visitar a sus padres durante unas semanas. El final de su estadia hace aflorar los recuerdos: alegrias, decepciones, amores y desenganos que marcaron el paso del tiempo y que parecen haber dominado la vida de las cuatro hermanas. Sin embargo, mas alla de lo ocurrido late el profundo amor que los ha mantenido unidos durante todos esos anos. "