When David Herrick receives an invitation to a reunion from a long-forgotten acquaintance, he reluctantly visits Headly Manor. This poignant and moving story blends Adrian Plass's rich style of writing with his knack for addressing the issues we all face---faith, grief, love ? and fear. Bestselling British author Plass (Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation) offers an intentionally offbeat story of bereaved widower David Herrick, who suffers intensely following the loss of his beloved wife, Jessica. Herrick, a popular Christian speaker, finds it sadly ironic that the very words and pat phrases he offers to listening audiences aren't doing him much good in his personal sorrow. With the arrival of a letter and an invitation from an old friend, Herrick travels to a former haunted bed-and-breakfast and rejoins classmates from years earlier; during their gathering, they eventually expose their deepest longings and struggles. Keenly attentive to his own skewed view on life at present, Herrick finds himself strangely moved by his former friends' individual plights and begins to glimpse small slivers of hope in the cracks of brokenness. No matter how he tries to shut out the divinely orchestrated lessons, Herrick finally surrenders and what he discovers surprises him most of all. Finely tuned and sensitively written, this moving story reminds readers that everyone bleeds the same on the inside. (June)