Set in the small town of Grenville, Ontario, a setting perhaps familiar
to the reader from the author's previous novel Cadillac Road, this
story progresses from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1940,
five-year-old Martin Thorton fell from the family's apartment balcony,
suffering catastrophic and permanent injuries. His accident plays a role
in everything that happens afterwards -- his marginalization growing up
a disabled person, his mother's guilt and unfailing devotion, his
sister's alienation. Told from the point of view of his sister Gretchen,
and his friend Donna, this is Martin's story.