"In 1965, on a small island in the South Pacific, a group of astronomers gather to witness the passing of a comet, but when a young boy dies during a meteor shower, the lives of the scientists and their loved ones change in subtle yet profound ways. ". "Three exceptional women are at the center of the group: the quietly brilliant Denise, destined for professional greatness and personal calamity; Kathy, distant and shrewd but longing for connection; and young and careless Lydia, attempting to escape the scientists' long-casting shadows. All three women make choices early in their lives that echo and return - like the comet above them - over a quarter century. "--BOOK JACKET.