Kinship Theory

""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, forty-seven, divorced, and a scientist, says yes to her daughter, and through gestational surrogacy is soon carrying a baby that is "hers to love, but not to keep." As Maggie's relationship with her daughter is thrown into new and often painful focus with this understanding, she begins to question her decision, her choices in life, and herself as a good mother.".

"When the baby is born, it becomes clear that while Dale desperately wanted a child, she was not ready to care for one. As she struggles with the responsibilities of new parenthood, everyone rallies to her side, but it is Maggie who is finally forced into action she alternately sees as betrayal and a necessity to save them all."--BOOK JACKET.