It's the summer of 1960 in Atkinson, Vermont. Maria Fermoyle is a strong but vulnerable divorced woman whose loneliness and ambition for her children make her easy prey for dangerous con man Omar Duvall. Marie's children are Alice, seventeen<b>—</b>involved with a young priest; Norm, sixteen<b>—</b>hotheaded and idealistic; and Benny, twelve<b>—</b>isolated and misunderstood, and so desperate for his mother's happiness that he hides the deadly truth he knows about Duvall. We also meet Sam Fermoyle, the children's alcoholic father; Sam's brother-in-law, who makes anonymous "love" calls from the bathroom of his failing appliance store; and the Klubock family, who<b>—</b>in contrast to the Fermoyles<b>—</b>live an orderly life in the house next door.<p><i>Songs in Ordinary Time</i> is a masterful epic of the everyday, illuminating the kaleidoscope of lives that tell the compelling story of this unforgettably family. </p>