Mara Sommers and Joelle D'Angelo have been best friends for several years. They have shared everything, including the joy over Mara's first pregnancy. But when something goes terribly wrong during the delivery, Mara is left with brain damage. Alone and grieving, Joelle turns to the only other person who understands her pain: Mara's husband, Liam.

Brought together by their mutual devastation over Mara's condition, Joelle and Liam comfort each other as they sit by Mara's bedside in a nursing home. And little by little, day by day, the friendship and caring between them becomes something more. Something undeniable.

Now all Joelle needs is a miracle.

Torn by guilt and the impossibility of the situation, Joelle seeks help from someone she's not entirely sure she believes in. Carlynn Kling Shire is a healer, and according to Joelle's parents, she saved Joelle's life when she was an infant. Knowing that Mara needs something conventional medicine can't supply -- and equally sure that any improvement in her friend's condition will put an end to the pain of her own longing for Liam -- Joelle sets out to find Carlynn.

Her search leads her to a mansion in Monterey, California, and into the life of a woman shrouded in mystery. Does Carlynn really have the power to heal? And will she be able to help Joelle get her friend back?

As Joelle is guided down an unfamiliar path by a woman who is clearly keeping her own secrets, she discovers that some love is doomed, while some love can survive anything. [close]