January 1932: Ben MacCarthy and his father watch a vagabond variety revue making a stop in the Irish countryside. After a two-hour kaleidoscope of low comedy, juggling, tumbling, and other entertainments, Bens father, mesmerized by Venetia Kelly, the troupes magnetic headliner, makes a fateful decision: to abandon his family and set off on the road with Miss Kelly and her caravan. Bens mother, shattered by the desertion, exhorts, Find him and bring him back, thereby sending the boy on a Homeric voyage into manhood.

Interweaving a host of unforgettable creationsKing Kelly, Venetias violent, Mephistophelean grandfather; Sarah Kelly, Venetias mysterious, amoral mother; and even a truth-telling ventriloquists dummy named BlarneyFrank Delaney unfurls a splendid narrative that spans half the world and a tumultuous decade.