The Broken Circle is about the loss of an old friend who went missing during their 1970 senior prom. Nancy a retired teacher, never got over her former fiancé who went to Vietnam and broke the engagement upon his return. Judy, a professor of German studies in Madison, struggles with alcoholism. Sharon, another close friend, struggles with her sexuality. The weekend of the funeral brings them together at Sharon's house where they learn what they've disliked about each other, why they barely spoke after a party, and that they're incomplete without each other. The reader will follow the friends over the course of a year. Through the time together, their old pictures propel the authorities to open the cold case.