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In an effort to sort out the mess of her life, Terra Froese has made her way to Harland, Montana and her sister Leslie (whose story was told in THE ONLY BEST PLACE.) Having bused as far as she's able, she is hitchhiking the rest of the way when she accepts a ride from a young mother, Amelia Castleman, traveling into town with her baby, Madison. Rather than making her way straight to her sister's home, Terra agrees to stop and have a drink with Amelia – a decision she soon regrets as she ends up assaulting a bar patron who won't take no for an answer, and finds her second stop to be the Harlan County Jail.

She puts up the meager amount of cash she has with her for part of the bail, calls Leslie who arrives with enough for the rest, and says her good-byes to Harlan and to Lieutenant Jack DeWindt. When Jack tells her he'll be in touch about her court date, she realizes her plan to move on to keep Eric from finding her has just hit a major roadblock, one that will bring her into contact with the good-looking cop when that sort of distraction is the last thing she needs added to her plate.

Leslie's welcome is decidedly cool, as is that of her husband and her mother-in-law. In fact, the only VandeKeere family member excited to see Terra is her four-year old niece Anneke. When Terra overhears Leslie's husband chastising her for putting up Terra's bail, she knows she can't stay in their home. She makes her way back to Harlan and pounds the pavement, finding a waitressing job at the Harlan Cafe and a room for rent in the home of a fellow waitress.

Terra easily wins over the residents of Harlan who frequent the cafe. She particularly enjoys two of the regulars who come by daily for a helping of theology along with their coffee, tea, and pie -- Father Sam, the local priest, and Cor DeWindt, Jack's father, a diabetic with an unhealthy fondness for sugar and a matchmaking eye. When Amelia stops in with her boyfriend Rod and refuses to acknowledge Terra, Terra plays along, sensing the other woman is hiding an abusive relationship, and wondering later why Leslie and Jack both take Rod's side.

Having no choice but to stay in Harland until her court date, Terra does her best to accept her temporary lot in life. Her reunion with her sister brings up a lot of memories of the years they spent with their single and mostly absent mother, a past Leslie prefers to put away now that her life has changed for the better and she is "starting to find a purpose in life beyond being a wife, mother and nurse." She wants Terra to share her experience, telling her, "And I want the same for you. The same knowledge that God is in control of your life. The same comfort."

Uh-oh, Terra thinks. This God thing is not what she signed on for, musing, "The thought of some pushy power honing in on my inmost thoughts did not bring me comfort." No matter the discomfort she feels, however, she can't escape the influence of faith on the lives of those around her. And soon enough she realizes the burdens she's carried for so long are too heavy to bear alone. Never planning to share as much of herself as she does with Leslie or with Jack, Terra begins to appreciate the impact their Christianity has on every aspect of their lives and wonders if she would ever be welcome in God's fold.

But nothing about her journey is easy, and the reader is drawn in to her dilemma. After all, Cor's proselytizing is too hot. He comes on strong and hard, overwhelming Terra with his insistence that God is calling for her and waiting for her, loving her like a father. Leslie's proselytizing, on the other hand, is too cold – and strangely impersonal considering she's Terra's sister. From the very beginning, she wraps herself in a cloak of Christian disapproval of Terra's lifestyle, going so far as to warn her from pursuing a relationship with Jack because he deserves someone better.

Jack's proselytizing, however, is just right. He shows Terra patience and understanding, and backs off when she feels she's being given too much religion, while offering her shelter in the circle of his arms when she needs it most. He doesn't pressure her, but gives her room to come to God on her own terms, letting her know he, too, will be there for her every step of the way.

Unfortunately, Terra's ongoing defense of Amelia never rings true. Even with Terra's past history with men, Amelia's treatment – negligence – of Madison should have raised a red flag. After all, the first time Terra met the pair, Amelia took the obviously unwell baby into a bar. Terra is a smart cookie, so it's tough to buy that she wouldn't see through Amelia's explanations to the truth – no matter her experiences with Eric.

What kept me reading to the end was the same thing that hooked me from the very beginning – Terra's voice, even though first person narrative often allows for problems of its own. In this case, that problem presented in the form of an unreliable narrator. Terra manages to keep her secrets not only from her friends and family, but from the reader as well in such a way that never seemed authentic. It's hard to believe she wouldn't once think back to the past during her private and trying moments. Still, Terra was a heroine to root for, and Jack a hero to fall for, the story definitely worth reading. You can buy ALL IN ONE PLACE at either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.