Confined to a wheelchair and struggling with his own failed marriage, historian Lyman Ward retreats to his grandparents’ old home in California to write about their lives. Through letters, journals, and memories, he reconstructs the story of his grandmother, Susan Burling Ward, a talented artist who leaves her comfortable East Coast upbringing to follow her husband, Oliver, a restless mining engineer, across the harsh and unpredictable landscapes of the American West.

As Susan and Oliver move from one frontier outpost to another, their marriage is tested by isolation, hardship, and the conflicting demands of ambition and stability. Susan longs for connection, culture, and permanence, while Oliver is driven by work that constantly pulls them into new and uncertain environments. Their partnership becomes a complex negotiation between love and independence, loyalty and personal fulfillment.

Interweaving past and present, Lyman’s research forces him to confront parallels between his grandparents’ struggles and his own life. Angle of Repose is a richly layered novel about marriage, resilience, and the tension between settling down and moving on—exploring how the choices we make shape not only our lives, but the stories we leave behind.