1953. When a funeral brings the Langdon family together once more, they little realize how much, over the coming years, each of their worlds will change. Frank, the eldest Langdon son — restless and unhappy — ignores his troubled wife and finds himself distracted by a face from the past. Lillian must watch as her brilliant, eccentric husband Arthur is destroyed by his secretive government work. Claire, too ; finds that marriage is not what she expected it to be.
The dark shadow of the Vietnam War hangs over every one ... In sickness and health, through their best and darkest times, the Langdon family will live and love and suffer against the merciless sweep of American history.