This story revolves around a few days in the life of Frank Bascombe in 1988 — the protagonist of "The Sportswriter" (1988). He is 44 years old, divorced, and working as a real estate agent in Haddam, New Jersey. Frank hasn't quite gotten the hang of being independent during middle age or what he calls his "Existence Period." His identity, patience, and resilience are challenged by a house-hunting couple critical of him because they're angry at having to downsize their lives, by a racially mixed couple who haven't paid the rent in a house he owns, by his lover's misreading of him, by a troubling encounter with his ex-wife, and by an unsettling trip with his emotionally disturbed 15-year-old son to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ford shows how Frank's soul has been constricted by divorce, the unsolved murder of a co-worker, and the disappointments of the economy. Instead of running from his troubles, this protagonist bravely walks through them and comes out on the other side with a small glint of hope. "Independence Day" is an ambitious, rich novel that bustles with life and enlarges our understanding of the courage it takes to just muddle through middle age.