Venice Webb fled the family nest in Los Gatos, California, as a young man, never understanding the reason for his father's neglect or the other bizarre family dynamics-and knowing he probably never would. Now, some thirty years later, the truth is closing in on him like a freight train at full speed.

A former firefighter and recovering alcoholic in his midfifties, Venice normally spends his days tackling the endless maladies common to most aging baby boomers, trying to remain sober, and working a wellestablished career as a fire-cause investigator for a Seattle-based international insurance company. But his daily routine is interrupted by a phone call from his older sister, Lydia Webb. Their father,Wendell Webb, has died.

Although apathetic about his father, Venice feels obligated to help his sister and uncle with funeral arrangements and estate issues, and he heads back to Los Gatos. Before long,Venice's bittersweet homecoming turns into a complete life change when he moves back home.

The abrupt decision allows him to reconnect with his high school girlfriend, Kate, but it also exposes more than one dark family secret. In a startling mix of abrupt confessions, resurfacing memories, and disturbing clues, Venice is left to piece together the incidents that have forever marked the Webb family.