Annie Ferguson was one of Manhattan's brightest young architects. But overnight she became mother to her sister's three orphaned children. It wasn't the life she'd planned, but one that rewarded her tenfold for every sacrifice she'd had to make. Now, at forty-two, with a satisfying career and a fulfilling family life, Annie has reconciled herself to being single. With the children now grown into young adults and confronting major challenges of their own, she is navigating a parent's difficult passage between lending them a hand and letting them go.