A haunting and eloquent story of small-town life from the author of Vinegar Hill, the million-copy bestseller and Oprah Book Club Pick. Can one person really make a difference? No one could have known that the small Midwestern town of Ambient would be changed forever by the arrival of young misfit Gabriel Carpenter. But his short time among them touches the entire community and his shocking death revives the local legend of the river angel. The line between the possible and impossible blurs and everyone's fragile hopes are exposed.