Margaret and Patrick are newlyweds when they set off on what they hope will be a great adventure - a year living in Kenya. While Patrick practices equatorial medicine, Margaret works as a photojournalist. In a dizzying multicultural city, she quickly realizes there is a great deal she doesn't know about the complex mores of her new home, and about her own husband. A British couple invites Margaret and Patrick to join them on a climbing expedition to Mount Kenya, and they eagerly agree. But during their ascent, a horrific accident occurs and a life is claimed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Margaret struggles to understand what happened on the mountain and how these events have transformed her and her marriage, perhaps forever. A Change in Altitude illuminates the inner landscape of a couple, the irrevocable impact of tragedy, and the elusive nature of forgiveness. With stunning language and striking emotional intensity, Anita Shreve transports us to the exotic panoramas of Africa and into the core of our most intimate relationships.