All Good Things describes the lives of four young men who played together as small children, seeking adventure in their small town. They made a pact to support each other, "one for all and all for one." The war intervened. One of them is unable to serve and waits to inherit the family business. Three others find more adventure than they bargained for, and their experiences of horror and misery have residual effects. Returning home they find civilian life also has its share of horror and misery along with loves, joys, and sorrows. Their lives are intertwined until one of them escapes to find a different life of adventure in a large city where he befriends another veteran. Still, their pact is honored as the reader is introduced to the history of people and events in the twentieth century.