A retired pastor with a sound mind but a failing body has been forced to move in with his daughter following the death of his wife. Struggling to come to terms with his loss, he spends the first month there in an emotional freefall. Desperate to find something that will check his descent, his daughter, Emma, suggests he finish writing a commentary on Ecclesiastes he had begun years before. She enlists her son, Chris, to help his grandfather with the project.
The daughter and son are each experiencing loss as well. Emma is facing the end of her marriage and her fears of being alone. Chris has suffered a loss of faith and has dropped out of seminary and moved home to regroup.
Work on the book creates a space where grandfather and grandson reconnect as they discuss and debate the meaning of this deep and complex book of the Bible. The grandfather wants to write about Ecclesiastes' unblinking look at life in a broken world. His grandson believes Ecclesiastes represents the story of someone who has suffered a loss of faith like himself.
Eventually Emma joins in the discussions and finds in them a way to face her own issues. Together they begin to fashion new lives while unraveling the mysteries of this enigmatic book of the Bible.