Imagine walls could actually talk as a New England factory community faces closure of its signature mill due to environmental contamination and foreign competition. This story of politics, family life, competing redevelopment schemes, gossiping locals, and a mother fiercely protecting her children is told in the voice of common objects-from the church steeple clock to a Bridgeport milling machine to an umbrella. They witness a bit of drinking, sex, a suicide, and the hopes and dreams of the human beings around them. How did these everyday things find their voice? Readers may never again look at the ordinary objects around them the same.