JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT

A woman on the run from her controlling, manipulative, and—yes, she’s ready to admit it—physically abusive husband. A 14-year-old girl reeling from her mother’s sudden death. Can they help each other find peace?

Finally ready to divorce Robert, Faith seeks refuge at her parents’ California beach house, a sanctuary that, until now, has always been rented out, so Robert has never known its location. But one morning she discovers Sarah, a teenage girl, sitting on the beach in front of her door. Now living with her grandmother Constance down the shore, Sarah is grieving not only the loss of her mother to a gunshot, but also her father’s sale of her beloved mare, Falkner’s Midnight Sun. Having lost her own mother at age 12, Faith connects easily with Sarah, and the two begin forging fragile ties. Yet Faith’s own shaky confidence is rattled when she notices a man following her car, and she suspects that Robert has hired a private investigator to locate her. However, when the man turns out to be her new neighbor, Greg, Faith must weigh her fears against her hopes to find love again. Meanwhile, to help Constance gain custody of Sarah, Faith agrees to take the girl away, reuniting her with her horse. And as the horse’s new owner seeks a buyer, Sarah prepares to say goodbye to Midnight one more time and face the truth about her mother’s death. Perhaps best known for Pay It Forward, Hyde (Heaven Adjacent, 2018, etc.) has written another novel that's primed for filming. Their spirits bruised, each woman, young and old, struggles to overcome the dominance of men, and Hyde’s talent lies in drawing these women together with bonds of compassion.

A heartwarming meditation on the transformative power of kindness and women’s friendship.