In late autumn of 1970, Nate Ledger retreats to his remote cabin in the heart of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, determined to take account of a largely solitary life. As logging trucks encroach on his hard-won solitude, Nate begins a memoir that will span from the aftermath of World War I through a lifetime of love and loss.

Soon, land developers pressure Nate to sell his property for an easement, and when his estranged nephew Roger arrives on his doorstep at the start of Thanksgiving week, Nate's carefully guarded isolation is upended. Eventually left alone with Roger's young son Mickey - a boy the world only knows as different - Nate sees something familiar that may hold the key to understanding his own largely solitary path.

Set against the rugged beauty and imposing wilderness of the Upper Peninsula, this debut novel examines both the choices that lead to isolation and the transformative power of human connection. Nate must confront the consequences of his choices and the encroaching modern world while caring for the boy who gives him reason to reconsider his life apart.