Margaret

Book excerpt: Margaret and her husband, Richard, have a home on Boston's Beacon Hill as well as a summer residence in a small coastal Maine town. Richard, the senior partner in a law firm started by his grandfather, is devoted to his job and, besides sailing, has few other interests. He is troubled by the thought of retirement.Margaret does volunteer work in Boston and spends summers in Maine, where Richard joins her on weekends. Their two sons have completed college and are now at the start of their adult lives. There is continuing family dialogue about law school and the sons becoming fourth-generation members of the family law firm. Both are resisting.The opportunity for father and sons to participate in a great adventure is at first dismissed as impossible, but eventually they decide to go with it. The results are not as expected, and Margaret's life is changed forever.