Elizabeth, a new widow, is a tangled mess of frozen grief. Her former beau, Paul, and his wife, Louise, attempt to help Elizabeth by inviting her to worship with their contemporary church group. But Elizabeth must ask her new “friends” to leave her alone. Were Paul and his friends “patronizing, cruel, unmerciful, and aggressive Christians”, “mouthing off about the will of God to someone who has just suffered loss,” as one critic noted? Or were they agents of God’s mercy and comfort, in spite of themselves?