Jennifer left Mississippi ten years ago under difficult conditions but has found life complete in Austen Grove, Ohio with Sergeant Brenner, her adopted father; Mary Beth, her best friend; her church where she is soloist; and her beautiful, unique gray cat, Saucer. Her mother, Kathryn, has lived with her brother in Meridian. Jennifer is excited to think of the things she and her mother can do together. A new pathologist will soon take over as County Medical Examiner and Lab Supervisor - jobs that Jennifer has held as interim for the past six months. She feels her life is perfect - until...her past begins to unravel. Vance Bales, the cause of her teen-aged pregnancy - a secret she has kept locked in her memory - is out of prison and looking for her. The new Chief Pathologist, Doctor David Williams, challenges her feelings about men. The killer of her best friend, Dianne Brenner, begins stalking her. Her friend Frederick begins pushing for commitment. And the final blow - her brother tells her Kathryn has Alzheimer's disease. Kathryn's disease progresses rapidly, but she and Jennifer have many good times together before she begins to forget who Jennifer is. Stubbornly believing she can do the impossible Jennifer tries to keep her mother's disease at by. She tries to cope with everything alone, until circumstances force her to release her control. She is able to forgive Vance; fall in love with Doctor Williams; help catch the killer; and when the time comes, offer her final gift to her mother - to sing her to sleep for her final rest.