The Silver Compass

"Recently widowed, with a troubled teenage daughter of her own, Ellis returns to Barrow, where life still catches her by surprise. First, the town eccentric is none other than Louie Johnson, who is estranged from his grown daughter and keeping things hopping down at the nursing home where Ellis gets a job. Then Ellis's father suddenly reappears after almost two decades, and Ellis is torn between bitter resentment and a profound yearning to reconect with her past. Amid the confusion of these tangled lives, Ellis begins to learn that forgiveness and second chances often go hand in hand, and that life's most wonderful gifts can come in an instant, pointing us in new directions ..." Taken from back cover.