Michael Samuels and Mary Mitchell, almost a quarter century into their marriage - the second for both of them - see age sixty and the end of the twentieth century looming ever closer. College teaching has never seemed duller to Michael and Mary's real estate partnership is ready to implode. Their family lives and social relationships seem to become more complex as they are beset with the demands of their adult children as well as their own desires to experience life to the fullest before it runs out on them. Each turns to alternate relationships, but new liaisons bring little more than guilt before they decay into violence. Yet this is a story of two survivors in the best sense: their families, their friends, and their commitment to each other finally bring satisfaction and even joy.