Steve Baranowski has seventeen years on the job, a nine-year-old daughter, and a garden his late wife planted that he still can't bear to replant. When a young paramedic gets detailed to Engine 8 for six weeks, Steve volunteers as his orientation buddy -- a professional courtesy, nothing more. Joe Bledsoe is sunshine in turnout gear: competent, kind, and completely unaware that the gruff widower showing him the ropes is fighting a losing battle against his own heart. The house loves Joe. Mia loves Joe. Steve is trying very hard not to love Joe. But Engine 8 is fighting for its life against budget cuts, an arsonist is targeting the neighborhood, and the investigation is pointing somewhere Steve doesn't want to look. With six weeks running out, Steve has to decide what kind of man he wants to be -- and who he wants to be it with. A story about grief and second chances -- and the family you choose when the one you had is gone.
