Cleet Kinsolving returns from the Second World War with no prospects, few plans, and a deep and so far thwarted ambition: to make the best of himself, to live life on his own terms. Cleet reluctantly goes back to his home town, drawn by a rich and powerful family who tend to twist the lives of everyone around them. In his struggle against the Reardon world, Cleet stakes everything he values on meeting the Reardon challenge.