On a hot day in 1890s Texas, a stranger arrives at the small dairy farm of Royal and Ellie Thompson, seeking work. A taciturn, English-speaking Swede from North Dakota, Olaf Helton is competent, strong, and good at farm work. As years pass, the farm flourishes. Then one day, a second stranger also from North Dakota, Homer Hatch, changes lives in ways no one could have imagined.
