A streetwise teenage runaway is on the lam from her probation officer. Her name is Jacquelyn, but if you call her anything but Jack, she'll cut you. Needing to lay low, earn money, and gain adequate stability to rescue her 11-year-old sister Coke from foster care, Jack cons her way into a suburban home as live-in helper for their autistic 11-year-old daughter, Glory. Much to her surprise, Jack has a unique ability to connect with the nonverbal little girl. As she positively impacts Glory, the family impacts Jack. Particularly Kay, Glory's mother. As these two scrappy survivors find an affinity with each other, Kay finds in Jack a daughter she can talk to. When romantic sparks fly between Jack and Robert, Glory's 17-year-old brother, we see a group of wounded people poignantly and surprisingly begin to heal each other-just a little bit. But the law catches up, the truth comes out, and Jack is forced to make a choice-to save her own hide, or save someone else.

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?