Deaver's central interest in the novel is the crisis young people must face when someone close to them dies. To create the kind of circumstance where the pain of that loss can be felt intensely, she creates two central characters whose lives have been closely intertwined since birth, almost as if they were siblings.

Living an almost fairy-tale life in Glen Ellyn, Morgan and Jimmy are surrounded by caring adults who support their theatrical ambitions. Jimmy idolizes Fred Astaire and aspires to be a dancer; and Morgan, whose heroes include Shelly Long, Bill Murray, and John Belushi of Chicago's Second City theater company, wants to be an actress. Aided by their mothers, Morgan and Jimmy frequently skip school for auditions and workshops. They seem to rely only on each other, ignoring opportunities to make friends with others at school. Morgan is intensely dependent on...