Malcolm and Jess have been married for 15 years. Their wedding was rushed because Jess became pregnant, but then she miscarried. The irony is that when they were ready to plan their family, it didn't happen, and it was only after years of fertility treatments that they reluctantly decided to stop trying. It was at that point that Malcolm was offered the opportunity to buy the bar he'd been working at for years, and he jumped at the chance to buy the rundown place, hoping to fix it up if/when funds became available. But between paying the former bar owner and repaying Jess's college and law school school loans, money was never easy; their savings had been depleted by the fertility treatments.
With this as the set-up, the story starts with Malcolm living alone because Jess had moved out 4 months ago, and he has not heard from her. There is a huge snowstorm coming, he learns from good friends that Jess is back in town, but dating another man (a man who has three small children, a ready-made family), and there's a fight in his bar. Oh, and the former owner of the bar keeps sending out a goon to collect payments from Malcolm whenever Malcom's late to pay, which is frequent these days.
It's bleak. I wanted to stop reading, but there was something that kept me going. When the point of view switched to Jess's, a whole new dimension opened. The author wove in the reminder that there's always more than one way to look at a relationship. A few other sidebar issues become larger and add to the story. I felt rewarded for having stuck out the bleak portion of the novel.
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