Manfred Weiszl lies dying of cancer in an upper room of a grand old Toronto house. His last wish is to see his son, Rupert, from whom he has been estranged for sixteen years, and much of the action derives from attempts to get Rupert's cooperation. Manfred's sister Pauline, the housekeeper Marie (and Marie's boyfriend Steve), as well as Manfred's dead wife, Gertrude are central to Manfred's life and each have their role to play in the unfolding drama of a family in crisis dealing with issues of death, marriage breakup, gender identity, and generally just trying to find ways to live. The novel explores how these characters interact with each other and play off each other, and how an intervening fate operates in their lives as they discover that through (or in spite of ) the incredible antics of mankind, life can be salvaged, can be joyful and magical. Human angels are a very big part of this book, and eventually come to the rescue of this dysfunctional family coming to terms with the capricious workings of fate and the human heart.