Dean Hargrove had worked most of his adult life as a copywriter for a major advertising agency in New York city, but when a situation arose at the company that he felt compassionate about, one that ended up jeopardizing his job... He finally reached the end of his rope, and decided to retire.

Dean's wife (Julie) had already retired from her teaching career, and when he expressed his disdain to her for what had happened at work, they jointly decided that maybe it was time for Dean to throw in the towel.

So, they sold their home in upstate New York, and headed west. They hadn't planned for it to work out this way, but they only ended up getting as far west as York, Nebraska.

It was the raw magnificence of the McKenna Mansion that the real estate lady had showed them, that raised their curiosity. Yes... the place needed a lot of attention. But if they could get the place for a decent price... It would be worth it.

Little did they know what they were getting into.