Mahli Malthus Milton Dawson's idyllic childhood is suddenly interrupted by the untimely loss of his father. Dawson recounts his father's life, his father's passing, and the effect of the loss on the people in his life (his mother who has forgotten who he is, his Grandma Bettina, and Maria, the girl from the house across the street). He contemplates love, life, death, grief, and then he reflects on what it means to become the man of the house.