When her high school sweetheart is paralyzed after a diving accident, Carrie Bell, who was alrady falling out of love with Mike, is beset by grief and guilt. After a summer of being the good girlfriend, though, Carrie, with an instinct for self-preservation, flees Madison for New York Ciry. She tries to make a new life but is haunted by the people and problems she's left behind. Packer's assured and sensitive recounting of Carrie's dilemma keeps the story from becoming a Lifetime movie.