Golden Grass is a heart-wrenching, tragic love story that began and ended in a small town in Oklahoma. Michael's overwhelming love for Mary began in high school only to be torn apart by Mary's vicious grandfather. Michael became a tenured professor with a black widow wife and children conceived not of him. Tragedy was the outcome and Michael escaped to Wisconsin and a life of obscurity until Jeanny, a mutual friend of theirs, carried out a secret meeting between Michael and Mary, which reunited them, albeit for only three glorious days. Though Mary was married with husband and family, her very being was torn apart when they had to part. Michael created a love present for Mary and sent it to her: a hand-carved oak velvet rocking chair. It was a symbol of their love and carried Mary home. Mary's children never knew of her overwhelming love for Michael, only that their mother was terribly unhappy.