Steel Magnolias meets The First Wives Club in a touching and hilarious novel of friendship, love, sex, dreams, and good hair.

After you''ve raised the kids, been widowed or divorced once or twice, or even if -- especially if -- you''ve been married for a few decades, you need a rest. The Ladies Farm offers relaxation, exercise, crafts classes, and a fully equipped beauty salon. This idyllic retreat set in the hills of Sydonia, Texas, is owned and operated by four friends: Pauline, the resident earth mother; Rita, the oft-married hairdresser; Della, a plain-spoken divorcee; and the younger businesswoman, Kat.

When Barbara, widow of Richard -- a man who had a great love of womankind -- moves in, all hell breaks loose at the Ladies Farm. Turns out that all Richard''s ex-lovers live in Texas; in fact, more than one of them resides right at the Ladies Farm.

Take five women of a certain age, one piece of prime real estate, and one dead man who had a lot of love to give, and you have a rollicking, rambunctious novel about women who are old enough to know what they want out of life and young enough to get it.

From the Hardcover edition.