The isolation he has taken for granted, however, comes to an abrupt halt when Eve suffers a stroke that leaves her confined to a wheelchair. Suddenly vulnerable for the first time in three decades, Angus panics as he considers the consequences. Gage offers to take over Eve's grocery run, believing he'll find in Angus the one person capable of understanding his pain. Angus quickly conscripts Gage to help him bring in his harvest, and Gage zealously embraces the hard labour as part catharsis, part penance for his sister's death. He soon realizes, though, that Angus may not be the kindred spirit he had hoped for.
Tensions rise as they work together to bring in the grain.
There is someone who does want to understand Gage's pain, if only he would let her. Melanie Jensen is Eve's granddaughter, a generous and ambitious girl who sees in Gage what he's not willing to see in himself. Wary of her affection, Gage struggles with his feelings, finding it easier to continue blaming himself for his sister's death than to accept the possibility that he still deserves love. Angus and Melanie represent for Gage two different ways of coping. Through them, Gage must decide whether to face his guilt and begin to heal, or hide behind it and let it destroy him.