Earl Evans is losing his memory. Or at least that’s what his daughter tells him. He can admit he’s a little forgetful from time to time, but that’s normal for someone who’s nearly ninety, right? He doesn’t want to go to the memory care unit, nor does he think he needs to. But his family and the staff at his assisted living facility are not giving him options.

Earl’s quiet life is disrupted when an outspoken, tale-spinning man named Teller moves into the facility and convinces Earl to go on a road trip with him. To escape the dreaded memory care unit and to have one final adventure, Earl and Teller hatch a plan to escape the assisted living facility and drive across the United States. This might be the last big road trip for these two octogenarians—but along the way they’ll discover adventure, friendship, maybe even the meaning of life.

When the bishop calls Leah Sorensen to be Relief Society president, her first impulse is to assume he is joking. 'They'd all vote against me if you put my name up,' she tells him, 'and I'd vote with them.' She's prickly and proud, a farm widow who doesn't get along with the town women at all. Why would the Lord want her? Because it's 1932, the depth of the Great Depression, and, as the bishop tells Leah: 'You lost your husband and you didn't give up. You know how to survive hard times, and some women in our ward don't. I'm not looking for a nice church lady right now. I'm looking for someone with some grit, and that's what you've got.' But will grit be enough when the opposition begins?

When the settlers from the Muddy River Mission, including the Davis Family, move to Long Valley in Utah, they establish the town of Orderville, the most successful and longest-lasting attempt at living the United Order. River is the story of these idealistic settlers who devoted themselves to living this order with “no rich or poor among them.” As they strive to live this order, however, Morgan, Angeline, Ruth, and the other settlers struggle to balance individual freedom with community cooperation.

On top of this challenge and the struggles of settling a new town, Morgan and his wives must face the increasing demands of living the principle of plural marriage as their family expands and anti-polygamy pressure from the U.S. Government becomes intense. How will the Davis family face these new pressures and challenges? They’re about to find out.

“Mom, when are you going to add two more stars to the banner in our window?” LaRue asked.

“You obviously haven't looked. I sewed them on this morning.”

Picking up where the bestseller Rumors of War left off, Since You Went Away continues with Wally Thomas's struggle to survive as a prisoner of war on the Bataan Peninsula while his family begin to disperse due to the war. Bobbi and Alex Thomas are leaving for military duty at the infant stages of World War II — Bobbi as a naval nurse at Pearl Harbor and Alex in army basic training. A gripping novel filled with memorable characters, Since You Went Away will draw you into a past charged with danger, action, romance, and the importance of family and faith.

Beloved novelist Dean Hughes skillfully interweaves the stories of two Latter-day Saint families separated by five generations and 150 years, both facing challenges that test their faith and commitment to the Church. For Liz and Will Lewis, leaving Nauvoo for an unknown wilderness has proven to be the most difficult trial of their lives, but greater challenges lie ahead as Will joins the Mormon Battalion and Liz Leaves Winter Quarters to brave the trek west with her children. For Jeff and Abby Lewis in modern-day Nauvoo, learning to put first things first becomes a much more difficult challenge than they could have imagined, providing a unique perspective on the struggles that are faced by faithful Saints in any generation.

When Brigham Young summons young Morgan Davis to his office and calls him to join other missionaries in settling the Muddy River Valley (what is now Nevada), Morgan can’t imagine what lies in store. He has just two weeks to find a wife and gather enough belongings to help start a settlement.

As Morgan and his new bride, Angeline, travel the long trail south in a covered wagon, they fall in love and connect with the other Saints. But the desert location on the Muddy River soon becomes a physical and emotional test for all of them. Together they face difficult requests from Church leaders, multiple failed attempts to settle, deaths of loved ones, and then perhaps the ultimate challenge—polygamy.

What do stalwart members do when faced with conflicting feelings between what their hearts tell them and the hard instructions from Salt Lake City? Morgan and Angeline are about to find out.

Gene jogged down the hallway in his stocking feet and called, “Mom, where are you?”

But Anna had begun to cry. “I'll never see Peter again. I never will.”

Young Gene Thomas, son of Alex and Anna Thomas, has everything going for him: his natural good looks, his family's prosperity, and his reputation as the best athlete at East High in Salt Lake City. But now that world events are affecting his family, things may not be so rosy after all.

Kathy Thomas, daughter of Wally and Lorraine Thomas, has been thinking a lot lately — maybe too much — about politics, nuclear war, and racial injustice. What bothers her most is that nobody else in the family seems to care as much as she does.

Hans Stolz, son of Peter and Katrina Stolz, has been trying to get his parents to leave East Germany before it's too late — before the government won't let them leave. And now, suddenly, the border is closed.

In The Writing on the Wall, the first volume of the series Hearts of the Children, author Dean Hughes recreates the era of the '60s in stunning detail. But more than that, he shows how the turmoil of that period affects an ordinary family of Latter-day Saints. If you're interested in Church or world history, or if you're simply looking for a powerful LDS novel, you won't want to miss The Writing on the Wall.

Hans's road has led him to prison, but it has also, in many ways, brought him back to God. Kathy's future is unclear, as she struggles to find her way amid the extremes that beckon her. Diane by all accounts should be happy, but her chosen path has its own trials. And Gene's road, though he is thrilled with his new marriage and impending fatherhood, seems to be heading toward Vietnam. Readers everywhere will identify with the challenges, the joys, and the desires of these wonderful characters who are beginning to experience the consequences that await along their many roads.

One night in February Hans came home from work to find Rainer standing outside his apartment door. This was the last thing Hans wanted. He could only get himself in bigger trouble, talking to Rainer again.

“I had no where else to go, Hans. I'm hiding out. The Stasi is looking for me.”

Hans felt his hope drain away. He was caught, either way. If Rainer was telling the truth, Hans should have nothing to do with him. If he was lying, and was actually here to seduce him into a mistake — to please some Stasi agent — that was even worse.

Just when things seem to be looking better for Hans in East Germany, an encounter with his old roommate threatens to destroy everything. Diane and Gene also face destructive influences in their lives — Diane with her husband's aggressive temper, and Gene with the war in Vietnam. For Kathy, though, the answers she has been seeking all her life seem to be appearing at last. The saga continues!