It also ran as a serial in McClure's, giving Cather some free time from her work for that magazine.

[1] Bartley Alexander is a construction engineer and world-renowned builder of bridges undergoing a mid-life crisis.

Although married to Winifred, Bartley resumes his acquaintance with a former lover, Hilda Burgoyne, in London.

On the ship, he endures sharp gales and goes into a bar, where he gambles at bridge, the card game.

Later, Hugh MacConnell walks Hilda back to her house on a foggy day.

This prompts her to visit him in America to tell him she will marry another man; Bartley doesn't like the idea.

Bartley discovers that one of the lower chords is failing, compromising the structural integrity of the entire bridge.