Breaking Out

Dr. Susannah Brody, Magnolia Village’s only dermatologist, has treated every third person in the quaint little community. Still dealing with the loss of her second husband, with whom she converses on a daily basis, she dreads the upcoming separation she will face when her only child, eighteen-year-old Myers, will follow his dreams by attending a prestigious music school in Nashville, Tennessee in the fall.

Her loneliness is not helped by her sister dating her ex-husband and Myers’s father, Kent. After their marriage ended because Kent cheated on her, Susannah was lucky to find the love of her life in Stan Brody, only to lose him to a heart attack. Terrified at the prospect of dating and averse to being “fixed up” with undesirable men her age, introverted Susannah reminds her friends that she is not broken and does not need fixing.

Susannah’s attention quickly shifts away from herself when her best friend’s daughter, Casey French, goes missing. Casey is also Myers’s best friend, so Susannah wonders what he knows about the disappearance. Myers is a master at covering up his feelings after his parents’ traumatic divorce and his beloved stepfather’s death, so what is he not telling Susannah?

When Susannah’s neighbor, Detective Andrew Chase, becomes involved in the case, Susannah finds herself awkwardly thrown together with him. Chase is mired in the loss of his own spouse—Susannah’s former patient. While Susannah and Chase find some comfort in sharing their mutual grief with each other, will they be able to put their feelings aside in time to find Casey French? And could this potential tragedy be just what Susannah needs to break out of the ties that bind her?

In this too-close-for-comfort small town tale, a woman struggles to find her peace when her son and his friend seem to be losing theirs.