Ethan Canin

William Hundert is a passionate and principled Classics professor who finds his tightly-controlled world shaken and inexorably altered when a new student, Sedgewick Bell, walks into his classroom. What begins as a fierce battle of wills gives way to a close student-teacher relationship, but results in a life lesson for Hundert that will still haunt him a quarter of a century later.

A quietly provocative coming-of-age drama about two brothers — Clive and William — growing up in the unconventional household of progressive parents in the 1970s.

Edward's father walked out on his family years ago. In the years since, his mother has become a fundamentalist Christian and fallen for the school's self-righteous principal, Henry Howland. When Howland begins to mistreat Edward's mother, Edward's troubled older brother decides to get revenge. Now, Edward must protect his family from his brother's wrath.