[1] Patchett completed the manuscript for The Patron Saint of Liars during a fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

The healing qualities of the spring attract visitors from afar including the Nelsons, wealthy horse breeders from Lexington.

Later, the nuns were moved to Ohio and the Hotel Louisa remained empty for some time before it became a Roman Catholic home for unwed mothers.

Unhappy with her life, she seeks out Father O'Donnell and learns of a place called Saint Elizabeth's in Habit, Kentucky.

Thinking about her mother and husband often, Rose tries to fit in and quickly learns the routine of Saint Elizabeth's, taking a job in the kitchen with Sister Evangeline.

As the months pass, Rose starts to grow to the idea of being a mother, especially as Beatrice asks for her assistance in delivering her twin boys.

Following their ceremony, Rose and Son share their news with Angela and Sister Evangeline, while attempting to build a foundation for their marriage with little knowledge of each other.

He reflects on his time as a teenager, starting with his roller coaster romance with a girl named Cecelia, enlisting in the army, and having to leave abruptly.

"[4] Alice McDermott, of the New York Times Book Review, said, "Ann Patchett has written such a good first novel that among the many pleasures it offers is the anticipation of how wonderful her second, third, and fourth will surely be....