Synopsis

Jake Grier left his domineering father Fritz's farm in small-town Grumbach to try making it as painter in Chicago, but has to move back when his wife Ellen looses her city teaching job and another in the high-school where they met. The move is resented from the start by their children, pre-teen Bert, whom grandpa scares, and rebellious young teen Amy. Fritz also bosses and humiliates Jake constantly, while his brother Mitch, who died in a car accident years ago, is idolized. Grdaually, a dark past lurks back, while Jake's marriage starts falling apart as both spouses are irresistibly attracted to earlier local lovers, in her case sheriff Tom Welton.

Jake Grier left his domineering father Fritz's farm in small-town Grumbach to try making it as painter in Chicago, but has to move back when his wife Ellen looses her city teaching job and another in the high-school where they met. The move is resented from the start by their children, pre-teen Bert, whom grandpa scares, and rebellious young teen Amy. Fritz also bosses and humiliates Jake constantly, while his brother Mitch, who died in a car accident years ago, is idolized. Grdaually, a dark past lurks back, while Jake's marriage starts falling apart as both spouses are irresistibly attracted to earlier local lovers, in her case sheriff Tom Welton.