Tuesday's Mah Jongg Is More Than a Game

In the ancient Chinese game of mah jongg, each player must make the most of the tiles they've been given. It's the same in the game of life.

When Roseann is called away to a family emergency, her mah jongg pals bring in a new player, Grace. Roseann returns with her grandson, committed to raising a child again-this time as a widow with serious health issues. Marlene, a dutiful but repressed wife, is dealing with a dying mother and fractious father; Susan, a twice-divorced new grandmother, struggles with the realities of aging and fading beauty amid the modern dating scene; Barbara, a successful businesswoman, is married to a manipulative philanderer; and Grace, a social worker, becomes the voice of reason-until her loyalties are tested.

Will these friends, with ties both old and new, strengthen their bonds as they support each other through life's challenges? Or will the group fracture, leaving them scattered like mah jongg tiles from an overturned table?