The War in Dover's Landing

"I ain´t about to let that mule-headed old goat louse up this town´s whole future, and you might´s well know that right now. I didn´t get to be First Selectman by being a doormat, and I´m gonna have what´s best for this town. And Jud Perry better not dare stand in my way."

Jud Perry, in Ben Mabry´s opinion, had been standing in his way the whole of their lifetime and now, no matter what he might have to do, it was going to change. All of Dover´s Landing was going to change. It was a declaration of war, waged, at first, behind the scenes in several sneaky anonymous ways. Jud Perry was alone now - his wife dead, his daughter dead from the excesses of the ´60´s, his only son gone off to Canada rather than fight in Vietnam. No one has heard from him since that final father-son battle. Jud´s defeat would be easy, Ben thought. Wasn´t the whole village on his side?

Well, not quite. There was Jud´s wife´s dearest friend, Martha, who harbored a secret life that no one in Dover´s Landing suspected. There was Sam, his one-time English teacher. There was Dr. John, the village´s only veterinarian. And - miraculously - there was his son Andy whose surreptitious return to Dover´s Landing under a false name, wearing a face-concealing beard, and accompanied by his wife and two children, lent courage to Jud Perry´s heart, and strength to his will to fight.

The struggle escalates - as it does in all wars - until arson and attempted murder brings everything to a climax. The mystery of where Andy has been all the missing years is as startling to Jud, as is the long held family secret Jud is finally forced to reveal to Andy.