Isabelle McAvoy (58), private art consultant in New York City. The first half of the book focuses on her past, having three daughters with three different men and following her through each of those relationships. Her first love was a reclusive American living in France, much older than her, who was always a part of their daughter's life, though they never married. Her second husband went to prison for fraud when Isabelle was pregnant with her second...

Now on her own, Maggie decides to face her fears, setting off on a whirlwind trip from San Francisco to Monaco. But a chance encounter reconnects her with a thrill-seeking man she's tried to forget.

"Valerie Wyatt is at the top of her game--she has parlayed her talent for entertaining and home decorating into a multimedia empire, and her name is synonymous with class and exquisite taste. And yet, though she has achieved enviable professional success, her ambition and hard work have given her little room for a personal life. She is divorced, and though she has a strong relationship with her daughter, she finds herself alone as her 60th birthday...

"The story of a man's last wish to make a difference--and of the loved ones he leaves behind fulfilling their destinies at last" -- "Handsome, widowed, sophisticated, utterly charming, Paul Parker won the heart of a wealthy young Frenchwoman--the daughter of an American financier, the granddaughter of a major French art connoisseur--as his second wife. In two marriages, he has fathered a challenging son and three very different daughters. But as irresponsible...

After Mary Margaret Kelly's father, an Air Force pilot, died when she was nine, Maggie's family moved from one city to the next. Her mother warned her to avoid risk at all cost. Forgoing the magic of first love with a high school boyfriend who was too wild to feel safe, Maggie sought out a predictable partner, a stable home, and a regular paycheck. When tragedy strikes her conventional suburban family, Maggie decides to face her fears. Her travels...

"Oscar-winning actress Ardith Law is a Hollywood icon. Radiant at sixty-two, she is the epitome of glamour and a highly respected artist. But her success has come at a price: She has a strained relationship with her daughter, Morgan, who at thirty-eight still blames Ardith for putting her career before being a mother. Morgan is a successful plastic surgeon in New York City--and the distance from Ardith's Bel Air mansion is not lost on either of them....