After retiring from his career in construction and trying to cope with the death of his wife, Isaac York experiences an infatuation for a lifelong male friend and discovers his world fills with sunflowers and a risqué transition. Isaac moves to Lake Samoy in search of a new life, to abandon his past, and to start a fresh relationship with a famous and sexy man named Nebraska Close, whom he falls head over heals for.<br><br>Nebraska Close, a professional photographer who is drawn to summer nights and a younger man’s skin, finds pleasure for a second time in his life. Unconditionally he falls for Isaac and mixes together his lust, photography of sunflowers, and homosexual longing.<br><br>Isaac's son, Nicholas, lives at Lake Samoy and doesn't understand his father's lack of interest in his mother's fatal illness. With the help of Nebraska Close, Nicholas confronts his father’s sexuality, and Isaac learns to love his son again.

Nebraska Close

I saw changes in my father during the month of August that summer. He started reading his Bible emphatically, relentlessly, beginning on page one and working through the books, one by one, quizzing himself about theological dates, names, and events. He had an extra bounce in his step that I found annoying, never practicing before. He was talkative about the weather, particularly the sun, about running out of water in our lifetimes, about inflation and the Republicans controlling the government. I saw him studying books called Zen and Life, The Methods of Tarot Cards, and Growing and Caring for Sunflowers. Never did I see him eat a vegetable. And mysteriously, he was meticulous about how he looked. He spoke of his appreciation for nature, seemed to glow with satisfaction, enlightened by something or someone that he chose not to share with me. 


Chapter 12