In 1920, the three Crenshaw children are orphaned. Brenda despairs over her separation from her brothers. Eventually, she finds solace with her neighbor, Nicholas. Reginald quickly accepts his new life on a farm. After a failed marriage, during World War II, he finds the woman who fills his life with meaning. Mathew grieves most severely. He settles into the life of a poet in France. He finds the love he longed for. Her demise sinks him into deep despair. When he returns to America, he is rescued by a new love. The trials of separation, war, and lost loved ones trigger the human instinct to...

AN UNWELCOME INTRUSION is the story of Lucy Grumbach's life. She struggles to win her father Herman's love and approval. She worries about her abused mother, Gertrude. Her solace is found during the summers she spends on her grandparent's farm. There she meets a young neighbor. Jim Hunter eventually rescues her from her father. The Vietnam conflict takes Jim away. Jim's father, Zachary, assumes the role of protector to Lucy and her mother. He is so successful that Lucy convinces herself she need never see her father again. But, when Herman reaches death's doorstep, Gertrude pleads with her...