The clock of heaven

the long version

"Esa Withrod is a young woman struggling over recent events in her personal life - a failed first relationship and resulting pregnancy - as well as the legacy of her desolute upbringing. Her childhood has prepared her to deal with the world with endurance and resilience, but not with joy. Eccentric and enigmatic. Esa remains "mystified by kindness" and the friendship offered to her by her employer, Merle, a cartographer, and his partner, Daniel. Searching for that safe haven she knew as a child, Esa returns to her grandmother's house to find that it is not possible to go back. Through a spring and summer of traumatic events in what has been her family's homestead, she discovers the love of family, friendship, and the best of what people in a small community have to offer each other in times of difficulty."--Back cover.