Starting with her own sisters, Brenda Peterson explores the sister bond in its full range of relationships, from rivalry to romance, from cooperation to conflict. Here are the stories of a dynamic sister singing act; Isabel Allende with her adopted American sisters; the shadow of a sister's suicide; the sisterhood of animals; women artists and lovers; and the ancient traditions of powerful sister societies, from the tribal to the religious.

And here are the tales of a high-spirited slumber party, of female elders called the Crones who meet to celebrate their old age, of sisters in political exile, and of first loves, male and female. The stories of these women are interwoven with insights from psychology, mythology, history, and anthropology.