In rural New England, there is a veterinarian who has the same worries as a lot of people: that his business will not do well, that he will be unable to afford the taxes on his house and have to move, that he will not be able to keep his wife happy and his family safe. But, there is a certain comforting rhythm to his life that keeps everyone grounded, until he takes his twelve-year-old son Sam hunting and Sam is shot by a grouse hunter, falling out of a tree blind and slipping into a coma. The veterinarian tries to maintain a sense of normalcy for his wife and two daughters while they wait for Sam to awaken, but the spacecraft hovering in the sky is not reassuring him that everything will be okay. An unknown man, but not really a stranger, comes into their midst asking for a favor that will change the way the veterinarian thinks about his family and will make the veterinarian and his wife redefine many things in their lives, including their definition of family and forgiveness.
The narrative is framed by each call the veterinarian receives, or doesn’t receive. It is deceptively simply and at first glance doesn’t look as though the sections will convey enough to create a compelling story, but they slide together slowly, interlocking, creating a story told with honesty and an unexpected intensity.
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