Tom’s story begins when he is a teenager who delights in his father’s superstitious stories. He then falls in love with Mary, the object of his brother Dick’s and Freddie Parr’s affection. His seeming hopelessness in response to his brother’s attraction to Mary morphs into a determined desire to love and protect her, especially when he suspects Dick of killing Freddie Parr. As an adult, Tom uses history to underscore resilience, especially the resilience of his birthplace, and the Crick lineage. Even when Tom faces being forced out of his position, he turns to history and storytelling to flesh out the reasons his life has turned out as it has. With his wife Mary stealing a child, and the request for Tom’s expulsion from his teaching position because of this scandal, Tom attempts to make sense of right and wrong by using history to reveal life’s gray areas.

Tom has many questions in a world he cannot control; nonetheless, he continuously strives, and encourages others, to remain curious and never stop asking “Why?” Tom narrates this expansive saga at times with humor, but its tragedies come into sharp focus, as they largely shape the trajectory of his life alongside his true love—history.