A minus tide

the long version

A woman goes over a cliff in a car in what could be an accident or a suicide. Which is it? Four people discuss her life in an attempt to find an answer. They are her sister, a brother-in-law with whom she had an affair, a lawyer with whom she also had an affair, and a nun. By the author of A Parallel Life. Like a minus tide - an extremely low tide that reveals things not usually seen - this intimate novella lays bare five closely interconnected lives. Sally, an intense, beautiful woman, returns to her small town after a ten-year absence and is killed when car goes over a cliff on the coast highway north of San Francisco. Her lovers, past and present, and their wives each narrate chapters that propel the reader into the layered relationships that may explain Sally's plunge. These revelations, in turn, involve other illicit affairs that lead the reader to an even more complex and satisfying understanding not only of the characters but also of responsibility, forgiveness, commitment, and love.