Matt Buell triumphed over his social anxiety with guidance from his mother and loving encouragement from his wife, who both believed that by diligently following the ‘golden rules,’ success and happiness were inevitable. To his delight, it worked for Matt—until it didn’t.
Tragedies hit even the best people, and multiple tragedies swept away the pillars that uplifted Matt. He retreated into the safety of his accounting career, where absorbing work offered an escape from the emptiness which had replaced his faith in the golden rule and in God.
Immersed in the accounting world, where numbers were emotionless figures that didn’t baffle him as human relationships did, he could survive. Solitary walks along Chicago waterways, where he launched ‘messages in a bottle,’ filled the lonely hours away from his sanctuary workplace. He gave no thought to the future and avoided reminders of the past.
As they reached retirement age, his few social contacts were abandoning him; at least, that was what it felt like. When his employer/mentor sells the accounting firm to a larger company, Matt encounters a crossroads. Can he adapt to a new working environment after decades in the security of his company? Would the new company even hire him? This news, arriving at the start of the holiday season, fills the void in his life with something worse: despair.
As Matt contemplates what the future holds for him, a visitor offers an unusual job offer that promises Matt renewed hope and faith, and answers to his prayers.