Set in the late seventies, The Ropewalk is about the clash between ideals and unexpected realities. Egan Drummond, a twice-divorced history teacher, takes a job at a remote boarding school in Maine to escape mainstream society and pursue a long-cherished dream to make a name for himself as a historian.
Living in an old rope factory that serves as the school dormitory, he looks forward to being alone during the Christmas break so that nothing will disturb his research. But he quickly discovers that another teacher, Margaret Gillespie, is still there with her young daughter.
Margaret’s convinced there’s someone else in the building, and Egan, drawn into her world as much from loneliness as from the need to help, finds his own life unraveling as the phantom presence becomes more real. Ultimately, he finds himself forced to choose between fame and the loss of everything he’s come to cherish.
