A Separate Peace

A sly, gentle dig at society's conventions and preconceptions. John Brown arrives at a country nursing home with a case of money expecting hotel-style service. He's a kind of dropout bound to puzzle a profession geared to treating the sick. He's not physically ill and apparently not mentally so. He settles into the routine and cocoon-like security. Everyone speculates as to his identity. Maggie, his favorite nurse, learns enough so they're able to locate his relatives who come for him. She feels guilty, but he says he doesn't blame her. He tells her it would have been right if he was really sick- and if he'd have wanted his relatives he would have found them.