One Day With You Summary, Characters and Themes
One Day With You by Shari Low is a gripping, emotionally charged novel that unravels over a single day, following five interconnected lives as secrets are exposed, relationships are tested, and futures are reshaped.
Set in the picturesque village of Weirbridge, the story revolves around Tress Walker, who unexpectedly goes into labor, only to discover that her husband, Max, is unreachable. Meanwhile, Max’s best friend Noah uncovers a shocking betrayal, and their elderly neighbor Nancy prepares for a long-awaited reunion with her first love. With themes of love, loss, betrayal, and second chances, the novel masterfully explores how one fateful day can change everything.
Summary
On what seems like an ordinary morning in Weirbridge, Tress Walker, a 42-year-old interior designer, waves her husband, Max, off to London for a business trip. He reassures her that he will return soon, playfully reminding their unborn son to “stay put” for a few more weeks.
But moments after Max leaves, Tress experiences a sharp pain—her water has broken three weeks early. Panic sets in as she realizes she might have to face labor alone.
Unbeknownst to her, Max is not headed to London. Instead, he is on his way to a hotel to meet Anya Clark, his best friend Noah’s wife.
Max and Anya have been having an affair for months, though they have agreed that today will be their final encounter. Their affair, born out of mutual attraction and the thrill of secrecy, has run its course. Max wants to commit to his family, while Anya is unwilling to let go of her marriage.
As they step into the hotel, neither realizes that their secrets are about to unravel.
Meanwhile, Noah Clark, a devoted pediatrician, wakes up feeling the weight of his troubled marriage. The previous night, he and Anya had another argument about starting a family—he is ready, but she keeps delaying.
She claimed she was leaving for a work trip that morning, but when Noah calls her office, her assistant casually mentions that Anya is at a spa retreat with her sister.
The problem?
Anya doesn’t have a sister. Suspicion gnaws at Noah, and when he tracks her phone location, his worst fears are confirmed—she is at a hotel, not in London.
Across town, Nancy Jenkins, a 66-year-old widow, prepares for her high school reunion with nervous anticipation. She hasn’t seen her first love, Eddie Mackie, in nearly fifty years.
After losing her husband Peter to cancer, she never imagined finding love again. Now, Eddie is back in Scotland for his granddaughter’s wedding, and he has changed his flight just to see her.
Encouraged by her lifelong friend Val Murray, Nancy allows herself to hope that love might still be possible.
As the day progresses, Tress struggles to reach Max, but his phone goes straight to voicemail. She calls the hospital, and they urge her to come in immediately. Desperate, she turns to Nancy, who drops everything to take her to the maternity ward.
Meanwhile, Noah storms into the hotel and finds Max and Anya together. The confrontation is explosive—Noah, heartbroken and furious, punches Max, accusing him of the ultimate betrayal.
Anya tries to justify herself, but Noah refuses to listen. Their marriage is over. As Max reels from the chaos, he finally checks his phone and listens to Tress’s desperate voicemail. Realizing she is in labor, he panics and rushes out, leaving Anya behind.
At the reunion, Nancy and Eddie finally meet, their conversation filled with nostalgia and regret over the years lost. Eddie confesses he never stopped thinking about her, and for the first time in years, Nancy feels the spark of possibility.
By the time Max arrives at the hospital, Tress is already deep in labor. Though she is relieved to see him, she is hurt by his absence.
He holds her hand as she gives birth to a healthy baby boy, overwhelmed by both love and crushing guilt. He vows to himself that he will never betray his family again.
As the night unfolds, Noah returns to an empty house, grappling with the devastation of losing both his wife and his best friend.
Anya, now alone, must come to terms with the consequences of her actions. Nancy and Eddie share a slow dance at the reunion, embracing the idea that love can have a second chance.
By the end of this single, life-changing day, everything has shifted. Tress embraces motherhood, still unaware of Max’s betrayal. Max, though wracked with guilt, resolves to be a better husband and father. Noah faces an uncertain future, betrayed by those he trusted most.
Anya loses everything. And Nancy, after years of grief, allows herself to believe in love once again.
In One Day With You, Shari Low masterfully weaves a story of heartbreak, redemption, and the unexpected ways life can change in just 24 hours.
Characters
Tress Walker
Tress Walker is a 42-year-old interior designer who is heavily pregnant with her first child. She is excited but also nervous, as her husband Max is leaving for a work trip to London.
Max reassures her that he will be back tomorrow, playfully reminding their unborn son to “stay put” until then. Tress, confident that there are still three weeks left before her due date, laughs off his worries.
However, as soon as Max leaves, her water breaks. A sharp pain seizes her, and she realizes—panicked and alone—that labor has started early.
Throughout the novel, Tress’s vulnerability is highlighted as she faces the challenges of labor alone, with her husband’s betrayal hanging over her head. While she navigates the emotional turmoil of childbirth, her character reflects themes of strength and resilience, despite the hidden betrayals around her.
Her journey into motherhood becomes intertwined with an overwhelming sense of betrayal, as she remains unaware of Max’s affair.
Max Walker
Max Walker is a 35-year-old finance director who begins the day with good intentions, reassuring his wife Tress that he will be there when she gives birth. However, Max is secretly engaged in a long-term affair with Anya Clark, his best friend Noah’s wife.
Max’s character is torn between his feelings for Tress and his ongoing relationship with Anya. His decisions throughout the day highlight his internal struggle and the consequences of living a double life.
He feels an increasing sense of guilt and regret, especially after the confrontation with Noah, but his attempts to redeem himself are complicated by the emotional wreckage left in his wake. Max is a character defined by his flaws—selfishness, betrayal, and guilt—but ultimately, he seeks redemption, hoping to repair the damage and be a better husband and father.
Noah Clark
Noah Clark, a 35-year-old pediatrician and Max’s lifelong best friend, is a pivotal character whose emotional journey takes center stage once he uncovers the truth about his wife Anya’s infidelity. As a character, Noah is deeply compassionate, especially as he struggles to balance his career with his personal life.
His emotional pain is amplified when he discovers that not only has his wife betrayed him, but his best friend Max has also been part of that betrayal. Throughout the story, Noah is confronted with the collapse of everything he thought he knew about love, loyalty, and trust.
His character is marked by a strong sense of righteousness, and when he faces the truth about Anya and Max, his world shatters. As he navigates the heartache of betrayal, Noah is left to determine whether he can move forward or if the damage to his relationships is irreversible.
Anya Clark
Anya Clark, a sales director at Max’s company, is the catalyst for much of the drama in the novel. Her affair with Max, while initially kept secret, becomes the root cause of a series of painful revelations.
Anya is portrayed as a woman who prioritizes her career over her marriage to Noah, and her internal conflict between her loyalty to her husband and her feelings for Max forms a core part of her character arc. At the start of the day, Anya believes she can end her affair with Max while still maintaining her marriage, but she is forced to face the emotional toll of her actions as the day unfolds.
When Noah uncovers her lies, Anya is forced to confront the mess she has created. By the end of the novel, Anya loses both her marriage and her affair, left to reckon with the choices that led to her downfall.
Nancy Jenkins
Nancy Jenkins is a 66-year-old widow who is preparing for a high school reunion. She plays the role of an emotional anchor for Tress during her labor, offering support despite her own personal turmoil.
Nancy’s story is a poignant exploration of loss and second chances. After losing her husband to cancer, Nancy has lived a life filled with solitude.
However, the unexpected rekindling of her first love with Eddie Mackie adds a layer of hope and redemption to her character. Throughout the day, Nancy wrestles with the idea of whether she can move on from the past and embrace love again.
Her reunion with Eddie, filled with nostalgia and longing, suggests that, even later in life, there is potential for new beginnings. Nancy’s story is a reminder that love can come in many forms and at any stage of life, making her character one of the novel’s most emotionally resonant.
Val Murray
Val Murray, Nancy’s lifelong friend, serves as a contrast to Nancy’s hopeful outlook on love. Val’s husband, Don, is suffering from dementia, which has cast a shadow over her life.
While Nancy is eager to embrace the past and the possibility of love, Val is deeply entrenched in the present reality of caregiving and loss. She chooses not to attend the reunion, as she cannot face the emotional reminder of the past while caring for her ailing husband.
Val’s character provides a grounded perspective on grief, focusing on the slow process of letting go. Her loyalty to Nancy is evident, as she supports her friend through her reunion preparations, even if she cannot share in the same excitement.
Val’s arc is one of acceptance, where she comes to terms with her grief and the challenges of caring for her husband while witnessing Nancy’s rekindled hope in love.
Eddie Mackie
Eddie Mackie is Nancy’s first love, and his reappearance in the story after nearly fifty years brings both nostalgia and a sense of closure for Nancy. Eddie’s character is characterized by his warmth, vulnerability, and the emotional weight of lost time.
His decision to attend the high school reunion, hoping to rekindle a connection with Nancy, adds an element of serendipity to the story. Their reunion is emotionally charged, as they both reflect on the years gone by.
Eddie’s character represents the possibility of second chances, reminding readers that even after decades, love can be rediscovered. His connection with Nancy rekindles hope in both their lives, offering a bittersweet counterpoint to the more tumultuous relationships unfolding throughout the rest of the novel.
Themes
The Unexpected Consequences of Secrets and Deceit
One of the central themes in One Day With You is how secrets, lies, and deceit can unravel lives in ways that are both destructive and irreversible. The characters’ personal lives are all shaped by secrets they keep from each other, whether it’s Max’s affair with Anya, Anya’s manipulation of Noah, or the hidden emotional pain of Nancy’s grief.
The novel poignantly illustrates the catastrophic consequences of betrayal. Max and Anya’s secret affair creates a rift between best friends, Noah and Max, and shakes the foundation of their marriages.
Similarly, Anya’s web of lies surrounding her business trips and family commitments eventually unravels, leading to a total breakdown in her relationship with Noah. The theme suggests that lies, no matter how small or well-guarded, often find a way of surfacing, causing profound damage to the most intimate of relationships.
The characters are all forced to face the repercussions of their deceit and to reckon with the broken trust that follows. It highlights how deceit, once discovered, can permanently alter the course of relationships and lives.
Love Rekindled and Rediscovered
Another major theme in One Day With You is the concept of second chances—both in love and in life. Nancy, who has been a widow for years, gets a second chance at love with Eddie, her first love, when they meet again at their high school reunion.
Their reunion highlights the emotional complexity of rekindling past relationships. The novel delves into the idea that while love may not always be easy or perfect, it can be renewed, offering individuals a chance to rediscover joy and passion later in life.
On the other hand, Max’s desire for redemption, after his affair with Anya, illustrates his longing for a second chance at being a better husband and father. The novel explores how these second chances can be liberating for some, yet painful for others.
For Nancy and Eddie, their second chance at love is filled with nostalgia, while for Max, the desire to restore his relationship with Tress is driven by guilt and regret. The theme underlines the delicate balance between forgiveness and the realization that past mistakes cannot always be erased.
The Fragility of Relationships and the Illusion of Control Over One’s Fate
In One Day With You, the fragility of relationships is emphasized through the intertwining lives of the characters, where their fates are altered irrevocably by a single day’s events. The characters seem to believe that they can control their circumstances—Tress thinks she can have her baby safely with Max by her side, Noah thinks his marriage with Anya will stabilize, and Max believes he can end his affair without consequence.
However, as the day progresses, each character realizes how little control they have over their lives. The affair between Max and Anya, the unraveling of Noah’s marriage, and the arrival of Tress’s baby all happen in ways none of the characters had planned or expected.
This theme underscores how quickly things can change, leaving people to cope with outcomes that are beyond their control. The novel reflects on the unpredictability of life and how relationships can shift from one moment to the next, causing irreversible consequences.
Coping with the Weight of the Past
Grief and loss play pivotal roles in shaping the characters’ choices and perspectives throughout the story. Nancy, having lost her husband Peter years ago, is still processing the emotional weight of his death, which affects her ability to fully embrace the second chance at love that Eddie offers her.
Her long journey through widowhood reflects the theme of how grief can be an ongoing process, often resurfacing in unexpected moments. In contrast, Val, Nancy’s lifelong friend, is coping with the decline of her husband Don due to dementia, which brings her own sense of loss into focus.
Val’s refusal to attend the reunion and her struggle with the deterioration of her marriage highlight the emotional toll that aging and the loss of a loved one can have. Val’s journey through grief stands in contrast to Nancy’s potential rekindled love, revealing different emotional responses to loss.
The novel portrays the different ways grief manifests, either through nostalgia, as seen in Nancy’s rekindled love with Eddie, or through the silent mourning in Val’s relationship with Don. This theme reveals how past loss impacts the present, shaping the characters’ emotional landscapes and their ability to navigate new beginnings.
The Complex Dynamics of Forgiveness and Reconciliation After Betrayal
Forgiveness is a powerful yet complex theme in One Day With You, particularly in the aftermath of betrayal. The novel delves into the intricate process of forgiveness and whether it is ever truly attainable after trust has been broken.
Max’s attempt to make amends with Tress after his affair with Anya and his emotional turmoil is one of the central arcs of the story. His desire for redemption is framed within the idea of whether Tress will be able to forgive him, or if their relationship is irreparably damaged.
Similarly, Noah’s path toward healing is clouded by his inability to forgive Anya for her infidelity, particularly because it involves his best friend. The novel raises the question of whether forgiveness is possible when betrayal is so deeply rooted and whether the pain of the betrayal can ever truly be overcome.
It suggests that while reconciliation may be possible, it often comes at the cost of significant emotional labor. Some wounds may never fully heal, and the theme reveals the emotional complexity of moving past betrayal, as characters must not only forgive others but also find a way to forgive themselves.
The Unexpected Role of Community and Friendship in Times of Crisis
Lastly, the theme of community and friendship plays a significant role in One Day With You. In times of crisis, the support of friends becomes vital for the characters’ survival and emotional well-being.
Tress, who is left alone as she goes into labor, is supported by Nancy, her older friend who acts as her emotional anchor throughout the day. Nancy herself is buoyed by the friendship of Val, who, despite her own pain, helps Nancy prepare for the reunion.
These relationships illustrate the importance of having a close-knit circle that provides emotional support when individual relationships falter. The novel emphasizes how people rely on each other in moments of uncertainty and pain, showcasing the transformative power of friendship.
Even in the face of personal trials, the love and loyalty of friends help the characters navigate through their crises. Through these friendships, the novel explores how community can offer solace, guidance, and the strength to face life’s challenges.