What defines fatherhood—blood, legal obligation, or love? This exquisite novel about the complicated ties and ambiguities that irrevocably bind us to one another introduces an extrarodinary new talent in contemporary fiction.

Business executive Peter Morrison and his ex-wife, Joan, an artist, were never right for each other. When their marriage fails after eight years, Pete settles into the routine of court-sanctioned visits with his young son, Sam, a boy who has few physical similarities or common interest with Pete. When he discovers that Sam is not his biological son, Pete confronts Joan with the test results. She strikes back, cutting off visitations rights to keep Sam from finding out the truth. Suddenly Pete finds himself without a son—and without a father's legal right to get the boy back. Desperate for a solution and spurred on by an ambitious lawyer, Pete brings a lawsuit that breaks new legal ground in defining what a father is. Overnight, the private war over Sam's custody becomes frontpage news—and the very public trial forces Pete and Joan to face the truth about their marriage, and the lies that bind them both to Sam.