Rick and Naomi fell in love in college, married soon afterward, and weathered the setbacks in their lives— including Naomi's repeated miscarriages—secure in their love for each other. With the birth of their daughter, Dahlia, everything finally glides into place. Their renovated brownstone in Brooklyn is close to Rick's podiatry practice, and when Dahlia is old enough for school, Naomi begins teaching at the private school where her daughter is enrolled. Then, in a single, unbelievable moment, their close-knit life is utterly shattered. On an outing with Rick, Dahlia is killed in a bizarre automobile accident and Rick and Naomi retreat into grief-stricken isolation.

A moving portrait of ordinary people in heartbreaking circumstances, In Dahlia's Wake explores the ache of loss and the desperate desire to find a remedy. Naomi leaves her teaching job to volunteer at the hospital where Dahlia died and finds herself drawn to Michael McBride, the doctor who delivered the devastating news. Rick, haunted by guilt about the accident and tormented by Naomi's emotional and physical withdrawal, falls into an affair with his office manager, the divorced mother of a young son. The distance between Rick and Naomi widens, until another twist of fate and some wise words from Naomi's mother—who struggles with her increasing bouts of memory loss—awaken them to the value of their own lives and to the true meaning of family.