Meet the Swann family of Baltimore—a mother and her three sons. Ann Swann divorced shortly after her twins were born, and she raised her three sons with the help of her mother and by holding several jobs.

Ryan and Bryan joined the military after high school and then, along with their older brother Henry, served in the Iraq war at the same time. Just before they shipped out, their grandmother was murdered in the flower shop she owned. For the first time in her life, Ann experienced the pain of being alone.

Thankfully, her sons returned safely from Iraq. Through separation and tragedy, they found that they all have a renewed deep and daily appreciation of how family love sustains them.

The Johnson family lives in Minnesota. Therese is a devout Catholic, active in her church and community. Lee is Lutheran. They have four children. Their eldest son Ryan, 17, is an independent spirit. He plays in a rock band and had one of his ears pierced without his parents’ permission. His parents assume and hope he will become confirmed in the Catholic faith, but Ryan causes a crisis in the family when he announces his interest in Buddhism. Ryan had doubts and questions about Christianity.

Therese and Lee confront what it means to love a child without conditions, even when that child resists and tries to go his own way. The story deals with parental love and with the questions and challenges inherent in relationships between parents and their children.