The story takes place in New York partialy during WWI. At its center is a widower and his relationship to his three grown daughters, who are all very different in character.

Of all the Pulitzer price winners, this is so far the one where I least understand how it got the Pulitzer price. The litereary style of Poole is okay, but not outstanding in any way. In fact, the chracters are rather one-dimensional and to a certain degree stereotypic: One daughter finds her joy in motherhood and considers the happiness of her children her number one prioroty; one daughteris very involved in community life and tries to better the life of the people in the city slums; one daughter is only concerned with herself and the fun life can bring.

While neither the plot nor the characters hold any surprises, I still consider it woth reading as it potraits accurately the problems and issues of the era of middle class people of the late 1910s in a large city in America.