Mary H. Specht Knihy

Reluctantly leaving her fiance in Nigeria to return to her home in Austin, a young scientist contemplates her future and is devastated to learn that her sister is succumbing to the genetic disease that killed their mother. Flannery, a young scientist, is forced to return to Austin from five years of research in Nigeria. Having left behind her loving fiance without knowing when she can return, Flan learns that her sister, Molly, has begun to show signs of the genetic disease that slowly killed their mother. As their close-knit circle of friends struggles with Molly's diagnosis, Flannery must grapple with what her future will hold: an ambitious life of love and the pursuit of scientific discovery in West Africa, or the pull of a life surrounded by old friends, the comfort of an old flame, family obligations, and the home she's always known.