Lily's life becomes a nightmare when her baby daughter suffers terrible burns from a household accident. Suddenly, she is treated with suspicion and the state charges her with child abuse. Their daughter is taken out of their custody and she and her husband Jack begin a battle to prove their innocence and get her back.

The book deals with the results of this crisis on a typical family. How they pull apart from each other and how they learn to grow together again. It also tells of the effect on the 2 other children at home and what needs to be done for them.

At times the book is frightening as we realize just how quickly things can change in our life but we also come to realize the great power of love.

This is one of those books that you just won't be able to put down!! It is emotional from so many angles- the reader can't help put feel for all those involved equally at the same time. And, on a very different note, for anyone who knows the passion that can surround the art of cooking and restaurant life-you will surely enjoy this text. Ms. Basch nails down well the romance that surrounds the creation of wonderful foods. (You're all going to want to take cooking classes!) Somehow she brings together the sorrow of this family with the eroticism of food and makes it work very well. Enjoy!!

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. One of my own personal parental fears is having my child taken from me by the state, so I often found it an unsettling read. While the characters of the children could have been developed a bit more, this is a minor point in what is a thoroughly absorbing story. In addition, I found the author's observations about marriage, spouses, and family to be quite insightful.