<p>David Foley, a lonely, divorced businessman, is devastated when his only son dies at the hands of a terrorist in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War. Only the contemplation of his imminent grandchild rallies him from a debilitating depression. David sells his successful Boston business, leaves New England, and moves to Louisville, KY to be near his son&#39;s pregnant widow and await the birth of his granddaughter, Liesl.</p>

<p>When his daughter-in-law dies while birthing Liesl, David assumes the guardianship of the infant, changing his life forever. An avowed atheist, he&#39;s often at odds with Madonna, the deceased woman&#39;s staunchly Catholic sister who, along with her husband, has her own seven-child family. Though he wears his atheism on his sleeve, David realizes a relationship with Madonna and her family would benefit his granddaughter. The religious polarity causes him to deftly maneuver through precarious conflicts in search of the elusive common ground between Madonna&#39;s devout Catholicism and his own passionate impiety.</p>

<p>Hardesty takes advantage of his narrative&#39;s twenty-four year time frame to create a wide cast of memorable characters that populate David and Liesl&#39;s world. These include Dexter, a dangerous fugitive who confronts them in a road rage incident, Emily, a single mom who David meets while tending Liesl in a local park, and Samantha, a banal but lovable teenager who becomes Liesl&#39;s embedded babysitter.</p>

<p>There&#39;s also Sheila, the wealthy, married, and promiscuous mother of one of Liesl&#39;s classmates, and Joel, a teenage schoolmate of Liesl&#39;s, who David stumbles upon in a compromising position with his granddaughter. Enter Justine, a recently divorced and transplanted classical musician on whom David has definite designs. Next comes Alan, a grad student Liesl falls in love with while away at college, then Nestor, a brutal family abuser who preys upon his wife and daughter, both clients of Liesl, now a counselor at a woman&#39;s shelter.</p>

<p>As David flits between crudity and gentility, the story itself seamlessly conveys the reader between humor and poignancy, hope and despair, performing arts and violence. David&#39;s final two dramatic acts beg the questions: were these noble and courageous deeds, or evil and cowardly actions. Is this a man of probity, sometimes failing his own standards, or is he an immoralist, wrapping himself in a mantle of culture?</p>