Joy Harkness had built a career and a safe life in New York. When offered a position at Amherst College, she impulsively leaves the city. A tumbledown Victorian house proves an unlikely choice; nevertheless, it becomes the home that changes Joy forever. As the restoration begins to take shape, so does her outlook on life. Amid the half-wanted attention of the campus’s single, middle-aged men and the legitimate dramas of her community, Joy learns that second chances are waiting to be discovered within us all.