Malamud, Bernard

Frank, a troubled, somewhat desperate, Italo-American works long hours in the grocery store of a struggling Jewish family in a Brooklyn neighborhood. He develops a secret passion for his employer's attractive daughter.

Sy Leving, a high school teacher troubled by bad decisions and alcohol, leaves New York City for a fresh start in the Pacific Northwest, where he imagines there will be pioneers and covered wagons, but when he arrives at Cascadia College for his new instructor position, he finds himself in new dilemmas that take him back to where he started.