Set in northern Vermont. The Woodward family is in crisis. They have farmed here for seven generations, but by the 1960s Leon, who survived World War I and lost his son in World War II, sees his farm in decline and the country in turmoil over Vietnam. A widower, he shares his house with his daughter-in-law Vera, her twin sons Harmon and Bodie, and Harmon's pregnant wife Darlene. Harmon and Bodie have competed all their lives. Now Harmon is led to enlist in the Army. He is to be sent to Vietnam, but before he leaves he wants to know that the child his wife is carrying is his and not Bodie's. The resolution of this crisis and the fates of the Woodwards form the bulk of the novel.

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