"Candy Golden is in trouble. Her mother has died, and she's quit her high school basketball team after being falsely accused of having sex with the coach. Her aunts are not doing any better: Grandaunt Gloria lost her husband to a fatal stroke nine months ago, and Aunt Elizabeth and her husband have just divorced. While the detached Elizabeth would sooner leave her niece alone to lead her crumbling life, Glo sees the need to take action." "Fueled by a sense of duty, Glo goes to see Candy in an effort to get her grandniece straightened out and back on the basketball court. Glo, determined to save Candy with some tough love and religious dogma, plans a weeklong road trip to northern Michigan and to the Cross in the Woods Catholic shrine. Pressed by Glo, Elizabeth trails along." "But Glo, Elizabeth, and Candy do not end up at the shrine as Glo intended. Instead, they find themselves in the economically depressed, northern Michigan town of Lovely. There they encounter a host of characters who cause them to rethink their commitment to each other. What emerges in this unlikely place is a ferocious game of emotional basketball, which ultimately leads these three very different women to face each other and the choices they've made."--BOOK JACKET.