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Randy is a middle-aged hockey coach at a midwestern university. His vocation both consumes and fatigues him. He begins to question whether the time and energy he has expended on his job has kept his wife and children from having a good husband and father. Adding to his angst, his immediate superior is making moves to fire him. So when a lifelong friend makes him an offer to quit the coaching game and join his successful car dealership, Randy makes what he will come to regret as the biggest mistake of his life.
Without discussing it with his family, he quits his coaching job and moves them all to Utah to sell cars. The lives of Randy, his wife, and his children begin to go precipitously downhill from there. Problems mount exponentially, eventually leading to Randy's separation from both his wife and kids. Will this be a permanent situation? Does he want it to be? What does his wife want? Can either of them find a way back, or should they just find a way forward separately?
While every life is different, the emotions people experience are virtually universal. Capturing those emotions and examining them through good times and bad is what this story does. Miller is an empathetic storyteller. He finds the good in each of his characters but doesn't shy away from the fear, anger, and sadness inherent in individuals that often affect their ultimate behavior. He does a good job of keeping the pace of his narrative moving. His prose is unsentimental, and his dialogue rings true. While his chronicle is often fraught with desperation, it is never totally devoid of hope. That, perhaps, is what makes it compelling.