In the powerful tradition of Chris Bohjalian's Midwives and Jodi Picoult's Handle With Care comes a riveting debut novel about a doula, trained to support women and their families during childbirth, on trial for her best friend's death. When you come from a family of funeral directors, the telephone rings ominously in the middle of the night. For a doula, it resonates with eager anticipation. Either way, it always means lives are about to change....

An Eastern European Catholic priest's faith is tested by the post-war Communist Party.