After
losing her husband of many years, seventy-eight-year-old Winnie Easton
has found love again with Jerry Trevis, a wealthy, elderly Chicago
businessman; their decision, however, to buy one of the biggest houses
in the small, upstate town of Hartfield, New York, ignites anger and
skepticism in their families. Jerry's daughter, Annette, fearing for
her inheritance, takes drastic action to freeze Jerry's assets;
Winnie's daughter, Rachel, struggling with her own finances, accepts
Jerry's offer of a loan; and Avery, Jerry's twenty-year-old grandson, a
hotshot chef with a cocaine-fueled past, scouts out Manhattan venues in
which to start his own restaurant--with Jerry's money to back him up.
With so much riding on Jerry's wealth, a rapid decline in his physical
health forces hard decisions on the family, renewing old loyalties
while creating surprising alliances. Commuters
traces the interwoven stories of Winnie, Rachel, and Avery as each is
changed by the repercussions of one marriage, and by the complex
intertwining of love, family, and money.