"It's a funny thing about death," Thorny went on in a philosophical tone. "I mean that when it comes for most people, they'll do anything to escape it, but when you really wnat it, it's busy calling on someone else."
Four people, only tangentially connected, become closely allied in a compact to carry out a fatal "accident." Naturally, all of them have very different motives for contemplating their own deaths: Richard rejects a futile struggle with cancer; Thorny can no longer stand living without his beloved wife and his craft as a mason; Astrid knows that she is becoming increasingly demented; Matt realizes that the only way to provide modest security for his struggling family is through his life insurance.
Their compact is proceeding with careful planning, but it could be exposed and derailed by one of two characters acting out of love: Joyce, Astrid's caregiver, or Lauren, who wants no future except with Matt.
Success or failure are often matters of interpretation, and The Compact's reader is the interpreter.