When Penny Pewitt decides to take on a second nursing job at a large hospital, she hopes to secure extra income for her family. Instead, she discovers exploding changes in health care and resulting illegal practices that endanger not only patients, but also anyone threatening to expose the system. Meanwhile, Penny's relationship with her husband, Johnny, is disintegrating. She blames him for her unhappiness while his time is consumed with the pursuit of other interests. As Penny encounters patients, colleagues, family members and medical duplicity, she gains the confidence and maturity needed to see things in a new light. In an effort to defuse Penny's growing obsession with hospital intrigue, Johnny arranges a visit to her great-grandparents' hometown. As past meets present with shocking results, the trip comes to mean much more than he intends. In a blend of romance and suspense set against a background of health-care fraud, the story explores insecurities and vulnerabilities that make relationships authentic, and compels the reader with brisk, but steady pacing, fresh lyrical prose, subtle humor, and life-like, believable characters.