MARY BETH KEANE is the author of three previous novels, The Walking People: A Novel, Fever: A Novel, and Ask Again, Yes: A Novel – a New York Times bestseller. Malcolm Gephardt, the Half Moon’s handsome and gregarious longtime bartender, has always dreamed of owning a bar. When his boss finally retires, Malcolm stretches to buy the place. He sees unmeasurable magic and potential in the place and hopes to transform it into a bigger success, but struggles to stay afloat. His smart and confident wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career, and now she is facing the idea that motherhood may not be in the cards for her. Like Malcolm, she feels her youth slipping away and wonders how to reshape her future. The Half Moon: A Novel (Scribner)takes place over one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar goes missing, and a blizzard hits the town of Gillam, trapping everyone in place. Keane explores the disappointments and unexpected consolations of midlife, the many forms forgiveness can take, the complicated intimacy of small-town living, and what it means to be a family.