Powell Kenzie has wandered, living the life of a vagabond, since his discharge from the army. The year is 1948. He finds himself in a small New England town, by watchman Lloyd Guy given temporary shelter in the remains of the Drybrook works. On the hill opposite sits the family's empty house. Taken with an urge to settle, Powell conceives a plan to prove his usefulness. He meets Heinz Rohdl, a man seemingly insane. Then a visitor named Summers arrives to tell a ghost story.
