What is the main conflict in In the Garden of the North American Martyrs by Tobias Wolff?

First published in the journal Antaeus in the spring of 1980, "In the Garden of the North American Martyrs" was later revised and became the title story of Tobias Wolff's first collection of short stories, published in 1981. This collection of fiction helped Wolff earn a reputation as one of the most promising writers of his generation. In this and the other stories in the book, Wolff probes the details of everyday life and ordinary characters in an effort to discern the aesthetic and moral patterns beneath the surface.