In a small hotel on an island renowned for its hospitality and beauty, the Balinese staff and their Western guests are unexpectedly taken hostage. During the overnight siege, the hotel's cook is compelled by the crisis to provide spiritual and physical sustenance as best she can to the guests, staff and their poorly nourished captors. The event has a different impact on each person, but all will view life differently from this day forward. Reflecting on individuals' struggles to find meaning and love in the face of death, Sustenance is a compelling novel that reveals surprising ways in which people redeem themselves through fear and grief.