The biggest lie told to couples is that love is patient. It's a lesson well learned when you and the love of your life stand on two separate sides of a critical issue. In that case, love becomes scary and vulnerable.

Lauren and Ryan were the all-American couple who worked hard to achieve everything they ever dreamed of, so it caused a rift between them when they discover their friend was killed, having named them the legal guardians of his daughter, Lulu.

Ryan was eager to start enjoying the freedom of having almost independent children. Adopting a child from the other side of the world, especially one they had never met, was not something he wanted to consider. He wasn't even sure he was capable of loving a child who wasn't his . . . until he set eyes on Lulu.

Lauren fell in love the minute she heard she was going to be a mom again. In her opinion, it was no different than when she found out she was pregnant. For her, Lulu was theirs to nurture and protect.

Love is about being in sync; a little bit of give and take. But above all, it's about respect. It's not just about talking; it's about listening.

Ryan and Lauren thought their greatest challenge would be teaching Lulu about the rights every woman should have, something she wouldn't have had in her birth country. They never expected intolerance at every turn. Love should fill the gaps, not create bigger ones. Platonic love, self-love, romantic love, and love of mankind-the couple experience all four. But is there ever a time one should supersede the others? How will they survive when they learn love is as fragile as the web they have woven?