Susan Carter grew up as one of three siblings, the only girl among two brothers, Denis, one year older, and Alan, two years younger. The brothers were as different as the poles of a magnet, each one pulling in the opposite direction. To look at the three of them, one would never guess they were siblings. Dennis' constant harassment of his younger brother left Alan in a blanket of insecurity and resentment, tempered only by Susan's meager attempts to sooth their differences. The brothers' divergent lives led one to college, a tour of duty in Vietnam, and diversity; the other to the status quo, and a presumed competition for superiority. Over time, the siblings drifted apart, and the deaths of their parents drove the wedges of their differences ever deeper.Ultimately, a tragic event challenges them all to re-evaluate their lives and they attempt to come to terms with the fallout from the disparity that had followed them through decades of disputes and discord....