Vital Signs - Tapa dura

"A heady brew of medicine and romance, richly packed, immensely readable, eloquent, absorbing, satisfying." -- The Washington Post

"An absolutely riveting combination of medicine and romance!" -- Philadelphia Inquirer

Moving through the exotic settings of California, Hawaii, and Africa, Barbara Wood weaves a rich and compelling story of three women's lives and the challenges they face in their careers and in their relationships.

In the late 1960s, three bright, ambitious women struggling to make a place in a man's world meed in medical school. Each has a past she wants to forget, and each has a dream she needs to fulfill. Mickey Long — Disfigured from birth, Mickey turns to plastic surgery to heal herself and others afflicted with her special pain. Sondra Mallone — Abandoned by her natural parents, Sondra becomes a missionary doctor to forgotten souls crying out for love. Ruth Shapiro — After discovering the miracle of motherhood, Ruth opens a pioneering fertility clinic that offers new hope to those who once had none. In the years that lie ahead — years of triumph and tragedy, joy and sorrow, love and loneliness — each woman will find, in their unique bond of friendship, the courage and strength to succeed.