In Gatestown, Texas, twenty-nine-year-old Karen awaits her execution on Death Row. In New York, Franny, a doctor the same age, plans her wedding and tries to resist the urge to run. In Austin, Celia, a beautiful young librarian, mourns her lost husband. Over the course of one summer, the three women’s disparate lives intertwine. Karen, Franny and Celia all struggle to find their place in a world where nothing is sure, as they move towards one night that will change them all forever. A heart-stopping page-turner about love and forgiveness, Sleep Toward Heaven is unforgettable. Praise for Sleep Toward Heaven : ‘Ward’s no-nonsense, unflinching prose and her complex but never confounding structure make this novel very tough to put down. But her greater triumph is her ability to humanize all these characters’ - Pam Houston, ‘O’ The Oprah Magazine . ‘It’s funny and sad and redemptive. Read it now. Thank me later’ - Jennifer Weiner, the New York Times bestselling author of Good in Bed and In Her Shoes . ‘Women’s Death Row as you have never seen it; hauntingly rich, wise and sharply etched’ - James Ellroy. ‘How do we forgive the unforgivable? First-time novelist Ward explores this question with a delicate blend of compassion, humour and realism - Her spare but psychologically rich portraits are utterly convincing’ - Publishers Weekly .