Kate is in her fifties, recently widowed, and coping with the difficulties--and occasional pleasures--of flying solo. But when her daughter Joanna's husband walks out, and Joanna instantly assumes that Kate will step into the supporting Granny role while she goes career and man-hunting, Kate realizes it is time to step outside her family's preconceived expectations--with devastating results. What follows is a delightful story of the relationships and unspoken power struggles between four generations of women, in Mary Sheepshanks's Picking Up the Pieces.