Jackson Albright Hilton, an "escapee" from an oppressive family and a depressive college experience, returned on a near-whim to a small Michigan lake town after eleven years of meandering. He comes under the eaves of a "great old house" where four old women are making a December life together. Jack stumbles over the voids and demanding penetrations of his early life, and is provoked through daily and special occurrences in his exceptional setting...