Twenty-three years after David Cassel's birth, his older brother Will is a successful pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, but Will's marriage is suffering. Eldest Cassel sibling Chelsea longs to return to Oregon to care for their ailing mother; Jenny's hip is the problem, but it is more than suspected arthritis?In the fourth novel of this series, the action has moved to the 2000s, a passel of Smith and Cassels born in the interim. Sam and Jenny's nephew Mitch is stationed in Iraq...

Life in Arkendale, Oregon has finally settled; Will and Chelsea Harris seem untouched by their father's injuries while their parents have found lasting contentment. But Sam Cassel and Jenny Cope face their deepest fears alongside the Iranian hostage crisis and the eruption of Mount St. Helens. As Sam struggles with paternal insecurities, his mettle is tested when a volcano explodes, triggering Jenny's worst dread. Ash rains on the village as Sam and Tommie seek answers to her childhood tra...

Jo Adams can't speak of her late father, whom she watched die when she was a child. When her mother, novelist Hannah Adams, introduces Jo to English movie star Jeremy Stewart, instant attraction leads to a one-night stand, but Jo flees, afraid of commitment.Through letters the couple reconnects, as Jo describes her grandparents' unsuccessful struggle to preserve their mixed marriage. Unable to commit to Jeremy, Jo resumes a loveless affair, while Jeremy's performance in There Is So...

On the run for nearly half her life, Jenny Cope's arrival in Oregon's Willamette Valley touches all she meets. She most affects two men, one mentally challenged, the other emotionally strangled. Jenny falls in love with Alvin Harris, whose childhood tumble leaves him with few worries. Sam Cassel's wounded heart pounds with unrequited love for Jenny, but his lifelong friendship with Alvin precludes Sam's advances. That and a sense of familiarity, Jenny similar to Sam's late wife, a woman br...

As the truth of Sam Cassel's late wife and child pummels all in Arkendale, Oregon, Jenny Cope and Alvin Harris attempt reconciliation. Sam decides to leave the state, unable to quench his unrequited love for Jenny as she and Alvin ponder marriage. When a horrific tragedy changes all lives in the Willamette Valley, wedding plans are altered, as well as Sam's move. Jenny and Tommie suffer hardest, but no one is left untouched, each Smith and Cassel questioning if life can ever be the same.

In the fifth book of the series, family loyalties are put to the test; Eric and Travis fret over Tanner, while Eric's girlfriend Dana proves Sam and Jenny's youngest hasn't fallen far from the tree. Mitch's tenure in Iraq continues as Chelsea marries, then receives the shock of her life.As the recession hits America, the Cassels and Smiths are faced with further joys and dilemmas; Will and Bethany give Sam and Jenny their first grandchild, but Eric is torn by his love for an injure...

In the final novel of the series, patience is required by many Arkendale residents; Eric and Dana face her brother's return as Rachel falls in love with Cory. David and Sandra decide to become parents, as Will struggles with writing a book. Chelsea ponders another chance at motherhood while Jenny and Sam watch a couple mirror their past, but Jenny's aches increase; is chocolate pound cake no longer helpful?The Iraq War winds down as weddings and new babies balance Eric's deep sorro...

Life on the island remains in flux: Tia Sorenson Zanetti faces her biggest challenge, while husband Nathan laments what seems immutable. As timelines coalesce, relatives weave in and out of familial spheres: Who is actually on death's door? Is Tama truly among the living? Where are Bobby and Tris, and why aren't Lucy and Dana succumbing to what seems like real brandy? Marcus battles what can't be factual while Wynn and Shirl race through various realities to rescue their youngest sons. A w...

On a planet where homosexuality is prohibited, actor Cade Walton has been imprisoned and sleep deprived for participating in a gay pride march. Cade is rescued by Drew Clemmons, a closeted doctor who spirits both to another universe where there is no such persecution. Cade suffers physically from his ordeal, but Drew shows more subtle signs of living in denial.Long and short-term effects of torture are explored under a domed universe where both men initially revel in their freedom....

In this second part of the series, set in 1961, Eric Snyder's paintings are gaining new audiences while his wife Lynne's former occupation of a hospital nurse has been jettisoned for the role of artist's model. Yet more is altering for Lynne, as she and Eric find themselves on the cusp of their hearts' desires.Eric's best friend Sam Ahern recounts some of his Korean War experiences, which draws the attention of Lawrence 'Laurie' Abrams, the partner of Eric's art dealer Stanford Tay...

As mysterious ailments evolve into an insidious scourge, friendship ignites into passion against the backdrop of a contagion. San Francisco nurse Marthe Souza stands on the front line while her bisexual boyfriend, author Kell Vander Kellen, records the plague's rampage. When Kell's sexual proclivities threaten their relationship, Marthe turns to other passions, Jesus Christ and the music of Patsy Cline, but soon she too seeks corporeal comforts.Set over a span of thirty years, the ...

In the early 1960s, painter Eric Snyder harbors a secret known only to his wife, Lynne. When Eric's latest disappearance raises the suspicions of best friends Sam and Renee Ahern, Lynne can no longer keep the truth under wraps. While the Aherns ponder this phenomenon, Eric embarks upon a search for his father, once again taking him far from the woman he loves.