The Old Man and the Watch: Searching for the Long Road Home

Kerri Perry is a loner hiding from the world in her one-bedroom, third-floor apartment until the day a missed phone call changes her life forever. After noting the caller ID, Kerri returns the stranger’s call. Although their initial conversation is tense, the loner and the old man who placed the original call, Morgan, develop an intimate friendship founded on the stories Morgan shares with Kerri about his early life. Once their relationship moves from infrequent phone calls to in-person meetings at Morgan’s lavish estate, Kerri learns that an accident that killed her fiancé and shattered her life is the thread that connects her to Morgan.

The revelation of Kerri and Morgan’s connection comes during the reading of Morgan’s will. The old man’s generosity causes Kerri’s life to change abruptly once again, but this time she gains a sister in Morgan’s adopted daughter, Sun Ling, as well as a new husband and a daughter of her own. With the monetary gifts provided to them by Morgan, Kerri and Sun Ling create foundations that service the local community and children who were victims of wars in a number of countries.

When Sun Ling brings a severely injured young Afghan girl into Morgan’s estate, which has been turned into a shelter and renamed, HOME, the family she has created becomes the target of the Muslim terrorists who executed the girl’s family in front of her. The attack on HOME leaves the children orphaned until the oldest of the unusual clan, Bata, steps up to parent the three young girls living in the shelter and to lead the foundation that became Sun Ling’s primary focus in life.
After the loss of Sun Ling, Kerri focuses her efforts on supporting Bata and the girls. She also puts energy into helping a dear friend locate the daughter that was taken from her when the woman was a troubled youth.