In the Land of Second Chances A Novel

In Ebb, Nebraska, things are pretty much as they were fifty years agoaside from that coffee shopand that's just the way folks like it. Plucky Wilma Porter is the proprietress of Ebb's only Bed and Breakfast, and she knows everything there is to know in town: the mental state of Clara Tucker Booth Yune, a rich recluse who says only two words at a time; the gossip at Loretta Parson's Bold Cut Beauty Salon; and the sad series of events that have led poor Calvin Millet to the edge of desperation. Calvin is the owner of Millet's Department Store, a village mainstay for generations, but many fear that itand the downtownwon't survive his terrible run of bad luck. Wilma prays for a miracle to save Ebb's special way of life, but she's surprised when it arrives in the form of a traveling salesman, if that's what he is. Vernon L. Moore claims to peddle games of chance, but he sticks his nose in odd places and says things like, "uncertainty is the spice of life." He is welcomed nonetheless, because he seems to have the power to change minds, save fortunes, and fix broken hearts.

George Shaffner has worked in the computer industry for twenty years, most recently as CEO or COO of three international computer companies. He is the father of three children, who are all math refugees.