"An enchanting and timeless all-American story that follows the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town in their quest to revive its flagging heart"-- When Midwestern movie house owner Virgil Wander's car flies off the road into icy Lake Superior he survives, but his language and memory are altered and he emerges into a world no longer familiar to him. Virgil begins to piece together his personal history and the lore of his broken town, with the help...

William Stoner is born at the end of the nineteenth century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. Sent to a university to study agronomy, he instead falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar's life. As the years pass, Stoner encounters a series of disappointments: marriage into a “proper” family estranges him from his parents; his career is stymied; his wife and daughter turn coldly away from him; a transforming experience...

Statistically, the Lamberts may be a typical Midwestern family. But in reality, they are far from it. Alfred, the father, is losing his fight to control Parkinson's Disease and dementia. His wife, Enid, no longer in control of her household, feels her choices slipping away. Their three grown children are struggling with their own clashes between dreams and disasters. But for one Christmas, Enid is determined to bring them together for the ideal family...