INDEPENDENCE DAY is the sequel to Richard Ford's 1986 novel THE SPORTSWRITER. The story picks up six years later and finds the narrator, Frank Bascombe, still trying to make sense of life. Bascombe is no longer a sportswriter; he now sell real estate. Over the course of a Fourth of July weekend he takes a stab at settling some aspects of his life. He attempts to finally sell a house to a couple which has already turned down the first 46 houses he has shown them. He goes on a trip with his 15-year-old son to visit the basketball and baseball halls of fame, but the magic of Cooperstown eludes them. INDEPENDENCE DAY was the first ever to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the Pen/Faulkner Award.