When Colt and Francie Hart drive out of New York one weekend and come across an empty house dating back to the Civil War, they are both seized by a desire to buy it. For Colt it is a symbol of his financial success, for Francie, a frustrated poet, it promises a return to creativity. However, their lives soon become overshadowed by the tragic events that beset the Musgrove family, owners of the house 150 years before, and the Harts are drawn into violent conflict with their descendants. As events past and present conspire to destroy their relationship, Colt and Francie's love and fidelity are sorely tested. Kowalski examines the distances that can spring up between two people and those that can grow imperceptibly over years. The difference between need and love is brought sharply to the fore as the author brings us to question the very purpose of marriage, when two people, looking for a home, find themselves instead.