Abigail Gallagher needs answers. Which of her mother's lives was real? The life she led or the one she left behind?

When wildlife photographer Abbey captures the tenderness between a protective mother gorilla and her newborn baby, she wonders if she can ever feel the same family bonds. First, she must break free from the intense anger she has carried since learning of her mother's affair. Her mother's self-centered behavior remains the wedge that keeps Abbey and mom apart.

After a year away, Abbey returns to Austin from Africa just before her 31st birthday. Her boyfriend Ryan cannot pry any commitment from her for their future together, despite her mother's playful, but pointed, urging and interference.

When her mother is diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, Abbey offers begrudging assistance to lighten her father's care taking load. Slowly, the secret layers of her mother's life are peeled away, until Abbey has no choice but to face a new and unsettling truth.

Can she close the gap in her relationship with her mother before her life slips away? Can Abbey open herself to Ryan enough to repair their attachment and resume their romance, to make plans for a life together?

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