Of Native American heritage, Lillian introduces her to ancient remedies in a desperate attempt to cure what might never be cured. With her husband often in Washington, D.C., Billie befriends a part-time cook named Lillian Moore. She settles into a beautiful house on a hundred-foot-high cliff just south of Bar Harbor.
Her two sons are backpacking through Europe. Her husband Derek is a Defense Department official immersed in the Vietnam war effort. When Billie Cooper receives a startling medical diagnosis just before a summer-long vacation, she decides to keep it secret.
