Above the town, on the hill brow, the stone angel used to st&. I wonder if she stands there yet... Hagar Shipley
- an irascible, independent nonagenarian
- has lived a quiet life full of rage. As she approaches her death, she retreats from the squabbling of her son & his wife to reflect on her past
- her ill-advised marriage, her two sons, the harshness of farm life on the prairie, her own failures & the betrayals & failures of others.