A Bend in the Road tells the story of Miles Ryan and Sarah Andrews. It is written in both first and third-person, the primary third-person narrative emphasis is equally split between Miles's and Sarah's stories. The first person narrator remains unknown through the majority of the novel; however, the first person narrator is somehow stated in the story to be the one who was the driver who killed Miles' wife, Missy Ryan. The majority of the story takes place in 1988.