Book excerpt: Family and friends are shocked when Mary Kate Sasser throws herself into the adventure of a lifetime. The small-town Southerner follows her imagination on a quest to Africa, refusing the escort of her boyfriend. His marriage ultimatum echoes in her ears, but she's not going to think about that until she has climbed the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Addison Falk also wants an adventure—and a vacation from her real life. Fresh from her MBA program, she is being lured from Miami to London for a job in her father's investment firm. For all the glitz and excitement a life in lesbian-rich Soho promises, Addison can't bring herself to take the next step without first adding her name to the rolls of those who have stood on Africa's highest peak. Their mutual undertaking challenges not just daily survival, but also the plans each woman has made for her future. Finding their way back to earth—and back to their lives—may be the most difficult journey of all. Winner, Golden Crown Literary Award.