Returning to her small, intrusive Ozark Mountain community, Caroline O'Conner cares for her Alzheimer's patient mother while navigating the challenges of her doctor father's frustrations, her brazen cousin's marital disasters, her deaf dog, a moonshining relative and a troubled ex-veteran.

"Along the banks of the Sweet Oak River, deep in the heart of the Ozarks, a book club takes five women on stunning journeys of self-discovery as they embark on an exploration of modern-day love guided by written tales of romance"--

"Betsy Huckabee might be a small-town girl, but she has big-city dreams. Writing for her uncle's newspaper will never lead to independence, and the bigger newspapers don't seem interested in the Hart County news. Trying a new approach, Betsy pens a romanticized serial for the ladies' pages, and the new deputy provides the perfect inspiration for her submissions. She'd be horrified if he read her breathless descriptions of him, but these articles are...

A boy yearns for two redbone coon hounds, which his parents can't afford during the hard times of the Depression in the Ozarks.