Two years out of college, Ellie Adler has a job in journalism, an older lover, and a circle of smart friends. Her ... father, James, who has children from three marriages, unites the family with ... humor and charisma, but Ellie has always believed she is her father's favorite. When her father suddenly dies, she finds herself devastated by the unexpected loss. Then, at the reading of his will, Ellie learns that instead of leaving her his prized possession--a baseball that holds emotional resonance for them both--he has left her a seemingly ridiculous, even insulting gift. Worse, he's given the baseball to someone no one in the family has ever heard of. In her grief, Ellie wonders who could have possible meant more to her father than she did. Setting out to track this person down, she learns startling information about who her father really was and who she herself is becoming.