"Only one thing stands in the way of Laurel Applebaum's happiness...Doug Applebaum. In this darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it's about to snap, Laurel gets a call that her husband has been in an accident. She imagines the worst. But as she is on the way to the ER, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug's death could solve all her problems. No more catering to his incessant demands. Then there's the insurance money. Laurel's...

Twelve-year-old Louisa Mae Cardinal and her younger brother must move with their invalid mother from New York City to their great-grandmother's farm in the Virginia mountains. When the forces of greed and justice clash, their struggle plays out in a crowded Virginia courtroom.