Because Alice and Howard Goodwin run a small dairy farm in the midst of encroaching suburbia, and because their whimsical ways betray their city origins, they are shunned as 'that hippie couple', outsiders in the small Midwestern town of Prairie Center. Nevertheless, they feel that they and their two daughters are living in a self-made paradise. But Alice has always believed that all it would take to fall from grace is 'one stupendous error, or else an unfortunate accident'. And one morning, while Alice is babysitting her neighbour's children, a tragic accident does occur on the farm. This sets into motion a devastating and irrevocable string of events that will change the Goodwins' lives for ever as they find themselves trapped in a nightmare from which they cannot escape. A Map of the Worldis a harrowing tale of guilt, betrayal and the loss of innocence. Spellbinding, lyrical, and universal in its themes, this powerful, emotional page-turner shows that Jane Hamilton is a writer of exceptional talent.