I started reading this book not expecting much, but then the story just grabbed me. The plot was well constructed and simple, and the characters were true to life. Jill, the main character, is more of an antihero, and the way she makes life deliberately hard for herself and others is sometimes painful to read. Frances Kerns does an excellent job in developing the characters around Jill. All these people are real and human, from the alcoholic and abusive Riley who gains my sympathy, to the sweet hearted Joan, who struggles with jealousy. The ending is tragic on the basic level, yet it was expected from the outset. The beautiful capping of Joan and Ross's love story leaves the reader with a sense of contentment with the world and with love