Maggie Crown has agreed to bear a child for her infertile daughter as a gift & as redemption for them both - but will they find it? "Who better than a mother to do it? It's just reversing the natural order a bit," Dale explains when she asks her mother to bear the child she cannot have herself. Maggie Crown, 47, divorced & a scientist, says yes to her daughter & through gestational surrogacy, is soon carrying a baby that is "hers to love, but never to keep." As Maggie's relationship with her daughter is thrown into new & often painful focus with this understanding, she begins to question her decision, her choices in life & herself as a good mother. When Dale struggles with the new baby, Maggie is forced into action she sees alternately as betrayal & necessity. Ripe explores the nature of desire, the bonds of family & the possibilities & passions of parenthood.