"On a perfect June day, Vivian Howe, author of thirteen beach novels and mother of three, is killed in a hit-and-run car accident while jogging near her home on Nantucket. She ascends to the Beyond where she's assigned to a Person named Martha, who allows Vivi to watch what happens below for one last summer. Vivi is granted three "nudges" to change the outcome of events on Earth, and--with her daughter Willa on her third miscarriage, daughter Carson partying until all hours, and son Leo currently "off again" with his high-maintenance girlfriend--she'll have to think carefully where to use them. From the Beyond, Vivi watches "The Chief" Ed Kapenash investigate her death, but her greatest worry is her final book, which contains a secret from her youth that could destroy her reputation. But when hidden truths come to light, Vivi's family will have to sort out their past and present mistakes--with or without a nudge of help from above--while Vivi finally lets them grow without her."--Back cover.