Rob Newman and Hannah Eliot, brother and sister, disagree over the inheritance left by their father. Their father's wishes state that the family homestead, built by generations of Newmans in rural Ontario colloquially known as the Valley, cannot be sold unless Rob and Hannah agree to the sale. Rob needs capital fast. Hannah is deeply attached to the family home and needs the emotional security it provides. She dwells on the story of the original Newmans who found refuge there as settlers from Germany. Hannah is insistent that the Newman family history should not end with the sale of the family seat. The town realizes the need to grow to survive. It needs to attract younger people to have families there. When Town & Country suggest the building of a resort, the town is divided between the older and the pragmatic residents, but Rob and Hannah's fight is bitter and steeped with undercurrents of familial resentments and slowly spirals out of control. The story is told by both Rob and Hannah, allowing us to feel their emotional reactions. Some consider the novel to be a psychological thriller, but it is an everyday story of family, inheritance and money.