Here is a story of compassion and perseverence in the face of theft, rape, murder, illness and betrayal... confrontations with the coarse side of human nature that leave Bets all but shattered in spirit and eventually lead to her disappearance. It is the saga of a remarkable woman, tracing her torturous journey from birth in a military community in Portland, Oregon to her final struggle with love, life and her own mortality in the American heartland.
Daughter of an alcoholic and suicidal mother, tomboy sister to a hell-raising brother, cousin of indians on a Syracuse reservation, Bets grows up independent and tough, but also melancholy and needful of affection. The story explores the strong bond between Bets and her father, Jay Jay Cole, a man of deep character and bad habits, whose paradoxical nature influences his daughter's development and her relationships.
Bets' fortitude earns her a Ph.D in social work; she seems poised to bloom. But a bad marriage, desparate illness during childbirth, and the loss of her newborn son dictate otherwise. Eventually, she must also face up to the debilitation of her mother and the agonizing death of her father, her only source of joy.
The ultimate message of this dark sojourn, however, is inspirational. The story has the power to lift readers to a realm of hope and soulful longing... Bets' bittersweet world of poetry, wild flowers, and ethereal connections. There, beyond the harsh bounds of her reality, fate is guiding Bets, as it always has, and leading her tale to a strange and wonderous conclusion.
Bets Cole has disappeared. She has left without a trace, deserting her two small children, and leaving behind a string of hearts that ache for her. One of these belongs to Judge Carl, retired courtroom judge and fiancee to Bets' best friend Stacey. Another is that of Jeremy, an Englishman who has been Bets' lover but who has recently left her to return to his wife and family in London.