Montana 1948

At Uncle Frank’s funeral, David notices the split in the family with Frank’s wife Gloria and his grandparents on one side of the grave while he and his parents stand on the other. 

The whole family agrees not to reveal Frank’s crimes but, instead, to say that he died in an accident, falling off a ladder in the basement. Frank is eulogized as a war hero and a solid citizen.

David’s mother grows increasingly uncomfortable with living a lie, and she asks her husband to leave the town and start over elsewhere. David’s father agrees, and they move to Fargo, North Dakota, near Mrs. Hayden’s parents. David’s father joins a local law firm and becomes a partner. 

Meanwhile, Len has been elected sheriff but is unable to serve out his term because of a disabling stroke. David’s grandfather also has a stroke, and he does not survive. David wonders if the strain of keeping secrets contributed to the two men’s brains breaking down. He also notes that his father’s bitterness may well have contributed to the cancer that eventually killed him.

David becomes a history teacher in Minnesota. But he is a skeptic about what history books call the truth. He knows that many important events can and will be kept secret, as was the case in his own family history.