In the space of less than a year, three people in a small New England village make life-defining decisions. When a stranger moves into Harrow—a stranger without a past and without a conscience—old conflicts flare, threatening familiar foundations, and exposing possibilities of new ones. In the tradition of Winesburg, Ohio, Lynn Stegner takes the linked story form to new heights as she explores the interactions of circumstance and temperament in determining people's choices in the face of their unsettled issues.