Hyacinth's idyllic marriage ends in divorce and she loses custody of her children when, in an act of jealousy, she burns her husband's office building to the ground, killing a worker.

Belva Plain's many New York Times best-selling novels, including Promises, are beloved by her fans for their ability to convey bittersweet tales of the heart. Looking Back follows the intertwined lives of three bright young women. Cecile is a beautiful child of privilege; Amanda is ambitious but poor; Norma is the academic star, yet the least self-assured. They are inseparable at college. And when the three classmates graduate and move into careers...

Sisters Caroline and Lore leave Germany on the eve of the second World War, to start a new life in America.

Margaret Crane's life falls apart when she learns that Adam, her husband of almost twenty years, is having an extra-marital affair, and her misery is compounded by the rift that occurs between her and Nina, an orphaned cousin raised by the Cranes, over Nina's relationship with a married man.

Eighty-five-year-old Annette Byrne invites her estranged children and grandchildren to visit, hoping to spur a reconciliation among them, but it takes a near-tragedy for them to realize the importance of family and forgiveness.

Three members of the Osborne family come to the brink of despair when they must choose to stand alone and watch their dreams die or work together to salvage what they alone can treasure.

Two women, Gwen, an orphan raised in privilege by her relative Cassie Wright, and Jewel, a receptionist employed by Cassie's New England company, find reasons to envy one another, with Gwen coveting Jewel's husband, Jeff, and Jewel desiring Gwen's life of wealth and opportunity; and the situation becomes explosive when Gwen's husband Stan, who is employed by Jeff, uncovers questionable practices at work.

The saga of the Werner family is carried into the 1920s and '30s. Paul Werner, scion of a banking family, is married to one woman and in love with another.

Continues the Werner family saga. Iris, the daughter of Anna and Paul, sees her fragile marriage falter and Paul, consumed by a lifelong secret, still longs for the family he has lost.

Violence, political upheaval, and clandestine love surround the St. Felice island estate, Eleuthera, and the flamboyant family that owns the estate.