[close] Mary Clayborne, the teenage daughter of a country doctor and a piano teacher, dreams of going to conservatory and becoming a concert pianist. When her mother falls ill, she temporarily puts aside her ambition in order to care for her younger brothers and sisters. But when another, larger tragedy strikes, she must decide whether to stay in the small town where her family lives or marry her childhood friend and join him in his medical practice in St. Louis. The choices are not clear-cut, and the grace with which every character makes his or her own decisions is a very large part of the beauty of this novel. [close]