It turns out that growing old gracefully is just as important—and just as hard—as the rest of life. For Owen Van Gorder, in a new home in a retirement community with a group of new friends, this can feel very unsettling and disorienting. One of the things that pulls him through is the challenge of putting his experience as a lawyer and financial manager to work with a team of his friends to figure out what is going so terribly wrong with The Oaks, their home now. Where is the money going and how bad can this get? The other thing that sustains Owen is the water: daybreak on the river in his kayak, where he can lose himself in the elements. Owen’s life now swings from newly discovered happiness to despair, all too quickly. But, in the end, he solves the mystery at The Oaks and gains a sense of balance that depends more than ever on his friends.