Almost Strangers

the long version

"When her mother dies, Ursula Gant is shattered. Secluding herself, she retreats behind a literal wall of beloved books. But not even this barricade of fiction can safeguard her from a spell of hallucinations. When the wall collapses, Ursula bolts to the airport, abandoning Daniel, her lover, and the safe boundaries of her life.". "Meanwhile, Daniel's wife, Cissy, a fading beauty queen, is tormented by a different sort of loss. Devastated by the knowledge of her husband's betrayal, Cissy boards a plane to Athens - the same plane that Ursula is on. The plane crashes, and in the aftermath one of Daniel's two fleeing women disappears - her body is never recovered. The other, horribly burned, regains consciousness, but, without any memory and with an unrecognizable face, she ventures into the world alone, unloved and unknowable, uncertain of the future, unable to return to the past."--BOOK JACKET.