Cole is a likeable regular guy. Except that ever since he witnessed a gruesome murder-suicide, things haven't been quite right. His wife left him, he is tormented by hallucinations and his career has nosedived into a blue collar job with a carpet cleaning service. Just when it seems his life has reached bottom, Cole is called out on an all-night cleaning job in an Italianate mansion far from the city. For company he has Henry, the rich, condescending homeowner who seems to take sadistic pleasure in letting Cole think he has just murdered his wife. A reddish stain on the carpet, a knife hacking into baked rabbit, a cell phone that won't stop ringing - does it add up to murder or is Cole losing his last handhold on his fragile sanity?

Explores Austen's adage that general incivility is at love's essence. Sylvia's husband dumps her for another woman, so Bernadette and Jocelyn organize a book club to distract her. They recruit Sylvia's daughter Allegra; Prudie, a young teacher whose marriage may be on the rocks; and Grigg, a sci-fi fan who joins out of attraction to Jocelyn. The six read and discuss one Austen novel per month. Jocelyn tries to interest Grigg in Sylvia; Allegra falls in love with a woman she meets skydiving; Prudie contemplates an affair with a student; Sylvia's ex keeps popping up. In the discussions, characters reveal themselves in their comments. By the end, are truths universally acknowledged?