Winter in a Massachusetts village serves as a backdrop to Edith Wharton' s masterpiece about a man with little hope of escaping his bleak future. Married to an older woman named Zeena, Ethan Frome finds himself drawn to his wife' s cousin, Mattie. Although he dreams of fleeing his loveless marriage and stealing away with Mattie, Ethan has neither the means nor the will. Mattie offers another solution, a desperate act borne out of despair that may result in even greater tragedy.