 Cather first wrote the centerpiece, “Tom Outland's Story,” and then later wrote the two framing chapters “The Family” and “The Professor.”

When Professor Godfrey St. Peter and wife move to a new house, he becomes uncomfortable with the route his life is taking.He keeps on his dusty study in the old house in an attempt to hang on to his old life.The marriages of his two daughters have removed them from the home and added two new sons-in-law, precipitating a mid-life crisis that leaves the Professor feeling as though he has lost the will to live because he has nothing to look forward to.