Wendell and Frank meet at the end of World War II, when Frank returns home to their North Carolina town. Soon he's loitering around Wendell's taxidermy shop, and the two come to understand their connection as love - a love that, in this time and place, can hold real danger. Cutting nearly all ties with the rest of the world, they make a home for themselves on the outskirts of town, keeping a string of beloved dogs for company...When Wendell finds Frank lying outside among the tomatoes at the age of eighty-three, he feels a new threat to their careful self-reliance: as Frank's physical strength and memory deteriorate, the two of them must fully confront the sacrifices they've made for each other - and the impending loss of the life they've built.