The Deep End of the Ocean is a novel by Jacquelyn Mitchtard dealing with themes of family and multiculturalism. Beth Cappadora's son Ben is kidnapped and she experiences a mental breakdown. Years later, a boy comes to the door asking to mow her lawn and, gradually, Beth discovers that the boy Ben, who ended up in a Greek home nearby after his kidnapper was committed to a mental asylum. The book recounts Ben's conflicts with his mother and brother and his struggle to reintegrate with his birth family.