Helen Clapp is one of the most prominent figures in physics; her work on five-dimensional time has garnered her fame and a tenured professorship at MIT. In addition to her scholarly work, she has written a series of books about various physics topics aimed at the more popular market that has brought her more notoriety and money. Helen is single but has an eight-year old son named Jack; a son she had herself through a donor program. She doesn't have a romantic interest at the moment; her best friend, former lover and co-worker has moved to Texas to work on the supercollider there.
As the novel opens, Helen receives word that her best friend, Charlie (short for Charlotte) has died. Charlies had lupus and has chosen to end her own life rather than wait for the indignities that would come with a protracted end of life. Helen isn't sure how she feels about this as she and Charlie had lost touch a bit in the last years as life got busy for each of them and Charlie and her family were in California rather than the East Coast.
Now, Helen has to deal with several issues. There is the grief she feels for the loss of Charlie. Charlie's husband and daughter are in Massachusetts with Charlie's parents for a while and then come to stay in the apartment Helen rents out. Her former lover also returns to her area, but with a fiance/wife firmly in tow. Helen is left to work out what her life has meant to this point and where she wants to go in the future. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.
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