So all of Picoult's characters sound the same, chapter from chapter and book to book. So all of her books now end in some morally and emotionally complex legal battle. The lady does know how to tell a story. (I'll say it before, and I'll say it again!) In this story, wolf researcher Luke Warren and his daughter Cara get into a serious car accident. Seventeen-year old Cara suffers a severe shoulder injury, while brain-damaged Luke lies in a coma, kept alive by machines. Luke's estranged son, Edward, and Cara get into a battle about whether or not to keep Luke alive. I have to say that I felt like the parallels between Luke's exploits while literally living with wolves, and his observations of their pack behavior, with the conflicts between Luke and Cara and their mother work much better than I expected. I read a review somewhere that stated that they felt that the most interesting character in the novel spent it in a coma (with his story told in flashbacks). I have to agree that I think Luke's struggle between wanting to become part of his wolf family with wanting to be a part of his human family could have been a really interesting story in itself. He was a most unusual character from an author whose characters are too often predictable.