Vicky broke out into bubbly laughter. "Guilt-a male invention to keep women neatly in their place. I didn't tell you to fly first-class to Paris. I suggested taking a few days of R&R-you look peaked, rundown, and if you don't mind my bluntness, you look like I did five years ago. I've only known you a little while, but I feel you're at the beginning of The Jeweled Path."
After years of dealing with the daily trials of raising a family, Rebecca feels she is just floating along. While digging through some old trunks in the attic, she finds a picture of herself at nineteen, and wonders where the carefree girl from the picture has gone. She determines that she has to do something.
When she drops her son off at college, she meets a woman who suggests that she take a few days for herself to follow "The Jeweled Path." The path is littered with obstacles, but as she befriends spiritually-minded people, each new friend offers her a jewel of wisdom and Rebecca grows in strength and understanding, as if guided by unseen hands.