It's been six months since Willow left Kate Bergman's college dorm room to go for an evening run…and never came back. Everybody else who loved Willow is ready for closure, but something deep inside Kate says that her dearest childhood friend is somehow still alive. And that obstinate conviction is alienating all the people Kate loves most. Even River McEwan is upset with her, and that's the deepest blow of all. River was Willow's boyfriend, but the three of them-Kate, Willow, and River-have been friends since childhood. When a professor assigns Kate and River to be partners in a joint research project, Kate hopes it's a chance to tear down the barrier between them, but instead faces an even bigger challenge. As she and River meet over the school project, their renewed friendship flares into something more. Soon River is enticing Kate to do things she's never dreamed of. But while she can't imagine giving up River, Kate doesn't know whether she can-or even should-stop wondering whether Willow will ever come home….