A biology professor in his mid-fifties, Richard Lucas writes a letter to his friend. The letter contains his resignation from a committee which works to preserve a swamp and fight a housing development plan. He fails to think of an excuse, and decides to give up and take his canoe out to the village nearby to pick up supplies. He paddles past the house of the nearby Perry family, and sees a police car by their house. He thinks about his wife, Jessie, who has passed away. They had met at a faculty meeting and, since their marriage, she had brightened Richard’s social and intellectual life.  Back in the present, Richard returns from the village and puts away his purchases in his cabin. He feels elated and, while wondering why, has another flashback to when he felt a similar way the summer after Jessie died. He had traveled to Naples and befriended an Austrian family, the Messiners, on a train. The train was about to leave as everyone got off, but the Messiners' luggage was still on board. Like a hero, Richard stopped the train conductor and demanded that they allow the Messiners to retrieve their luggage, and he was showered with gratitude.  Someone suddenly knocks on the door and Richard opens it to see one of the Perry boys standing there. The boy asks him for some water, as he was outside looking for his father who has gone missing after a fight with his wife.  Later that afternoon, Richard goes to his porch and ventures to leave the cabin to get away from the Perry’s family drama. However, he approaches the Perrys and joins them in the search out of his sympathy. A state trooper runs to Mrs. Perry and says that they found her husband asleep in an empty cabin around the lake. Mrs. Perry’s thanks Richard for his attempt to help their family, and Richard returns home that night and imagines that Jessie is next to him.