; 14 oz.; 250 pages; HC no DJ BCE in nice clean/tight/unmarked condition. Margaret Merrill, a quiet, divorced mother of four, has kept her family in a tightly closed, affectionate circle. When she finally meets a man who interests her, the children view him as an intruder, an enemy to be excluded. This novel traces a year in the lives of these people, how they and their perceptions change over time.