Basically, this is the story of an old man at the end of his life. Sounds boring, but Ruth Wolff (who is becoming one of my favorite writers) has a knack for capturing the essence of the human element in each character that she creates. Each person has depth, flaws and positive attributes that contributes to the plot, which is more of a portrait of small town living in the 60s than a "plot" of action.
To my knowledge, she has only written three books. What a shame. I'd like to read more by this author.