"A phone call in the night, an unexpected diagnosis -- suddenly, life can change forever. sandra, Colleen and Jude have been friends for nearly a lifetime. They share sexual secrets, decorating tips, counsel on marriage, even a hairdresser. Despite their differences and occasional snarls, the friendship only grows stronger over time, and their partners, Jack, Richard and Gus, go along with it, letting this union shape their lives. Now, with Sandra's crisis, everyone must find a way to endure the present and imagine the future. Sweeping through and beyond the second half of the 20th century -- from men in space to 9/11 -- the novel creates an astonishingly intimate portrait of three women balanced on the knife edge of middle age."--Page 4 of cover.