"A book-length valentine written for and about a woman he clearly adored." -New York Times

"Ward fashions many quietly beautiful moments...The disclosure of the secrets in Grace's mysterious past culminates in a moving revelation." -Publishers Weekly

"The story tumbles along from one insightful revelation to the next...With the book that bears her name, Ward has given Grace a lovely monument." -San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle

When his parents' bitter arguments threaten to tear the family apart, young Robert Ward seeks sanctuary with his compassionate grandmother, Grace. But Robert soon learns that his grandmother, a social activist, intellectual, and church woman, harbors deep troubles of her own. Terrifying "spells" in the middle of the night threaten her sanity, and she seems to be abandoning the causes of social justice that have long made her a pillar of the community.

Worried that his family is starting to disintegrate, Robert sets out to find the source of his grandmother's pain. Little by little he uncovers the secret that forever changed Grace's life -- her friendship with, and betrayal of, a black man named Wingate Washington. And Robert also comes to understand Grace's undying love for his grandfather, Robert "Cap" Ward, a freighter captain, a union activist, an alcoholic -- and a surprisingly complex man.

Set amid the idealism and chaos of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Grace is tender, charming, and suspenseful -- a singular work from one of America's best writers.