After the death of his beloved wife and a fall that leaves him wheelchair-bound, Abe Gilman thinks dying would be better than living out his days in a nursing home. This book combines Abe's story with the story of Elie, a Jewish boy on the cusp of manhood in Boston in 1948. It follows Abe and Elie along their pathways to discovery.

After the death of his beloved wife and a fall that leaves him wheelchair-bound, Abe Gilman thinks dying would be better than living out his days in a nursing home full of cranks and do-gooders who just won't leave him alone. However, when a spirited new arrival begins to liven up the residents' routine days, Abe finds himself intrigued by the ambitious project the others undertake. Deftly interwoven with Abe's story is the story of Elie, a Jewish boy on the cusp of manhood in Boston in 1948. Elie is determined to find out what happened to his father, a German Jew who remained in Europe after he sent his family ahead to safety, believing that his status as a veteran of the Great War would enable him to help other Jews during Hitler's rise to power. Readers will delight in following Abe and Elie along their pathways to discovery in this engaging book.