In an astonishing display of artistic mastery, Marge Piercy and Ira Wood have created a remarkably seamless, brilliantly written novel of lost dreams and strong ideals, fiery politics and consuming passion. David Greene was once the guy with the incredible pitching arm, but he never made it out of the minor leagues. Now, divorced with a son he's not allowed to see, David returns to his hometown, the small Cape Cod hamlet of Saltash, where he had been a local hero. There he falls into a passionate affair with Judith Silver, the wife of a brilliant and powerful man. Into their explosive mix comes Crystal, a single mother at the end of her emotional rope. Caught between two women and two volatile triangles of desire and devotion, David bears witness to a heartbreaking tragedy that seems as inevitable as the push and pull of ocean waves.