The Vows of Penelope Corelli

Over five years ago, Penelope's husband, Sam, went out for a pack of cigarettes and never came back, leaving her their daughter Sheila Marie, their car and five hundred dollars in their savings account. But during the past year, things brightened for Penelope who, turning fifty years old, hit the New York lottery for fifty-three million dollars. An attractive woman, Penelope has been inundated by suitors from discount department stores to the local car wash. But Penelope still loves Sam and won't even let her daughter know just how much. Sheila Marie, tired of her mother's overbearing presence, decides her choices are to marry a local guy, Sal, who is on the lam from the FBI, or move out. She moves out—into an apartment across the street. Then, as if by magic, Sam, like a contemporary Ulysses, returns telling Penelope the truth of why he ran off and why he came back.