For more than twenty-five years Luke Darr had been married to a cold, domineering woman who had ignored him and taken over his sons—John the realist, Matt the reckless, and sensitive Mark. Now she is dead and Luke has married young Bess Valentine and brought her back to what for the first time he feels is truly his own house and farm. Luke imagines that his marriage will make him a new man—he will have children that are truly his and for the greater glory of God (and Luke) he will build the town a new church. But Luke is forced to become a new man by methods not of his own choosing—the alienation of his wife and sons and Mark's suicide lead him to a true understanding of himself and an acceptance of God.—Kirkus Reviews