Strangers and cousins
(Book)

In the seemingly idyllic town of Rundle Junction, Benita and Walter are preparing to host the wedding their elder daughter, Clem. A marriage ceremony at their beloved, rambling home should be the happiest of occasions, but Walter and Bennie have a secret. A new community is moving to Rundle Junction, threatening the social order and forcing Bennie and Walter to confront uncomfortable truths about their small town. Meanwhile, Aunt Glad, the oldest member of the family, arrives for the wedding, troubled by long-buried memories of a scarring event that occurred when she was a girl in Rundle Junction. As she pieces together details about this event, the family begins to realize that Clem's wedding may not be exactly what they imagined. Clever, passionate, artistic Clem has her own agenda. What she doesn't know is that by the end, everyone will have roles to play in this richly imagined ceremony of familial connection - a brood of quirky relatives, effervescent college friends, ghosts emerging from the past, a determined little mouse, and even the very group of new neighbors whose arrival has shaken Rundle Junction.