Professor Godfrey St. Peter, on the cusp of moving to a new home, finds himself clinging to his old study and the memories it holds. His mind is gripped by the absence of his brilliant former student, Tom Outland, and the marriages of his daughters have introduced changes that he cannot embrace. As he struggles with grief and gradually retreats from those around him, his mid-life crisis unfolds against the backdrop of a changing 1920s America. Will he embrace the future or succumb to the allure of the past? Cather’s keen exploration of human relationships and the price of progress leaves the listener pondering long after the final words have sounded.