Frank Crumbler lived a near-perfect life. Happily married, healthy, and enjoying a rewarding teaching career, Frank was more than simply content. But at age fifty-one, his son moves out of town, and his wife suddenly dies of a heart attack. Alone, he decides to retire and move to the small town where his son and his daughter-in-law reside. Here, Frank's life takes some disturbing turns. Attempting to reinvent himself and establish romantic relationships, he finds out that the town is uncooperative, hostile, and eventually, painfully tragic. He doesn't seem to realize that it's his own shortcomings and twisted musings that lead to his undoing.