In an effort to keep her soul from going to hell, Kip's abusive, seventy-year-old former wife, Marsha, comes to visit him and Amanda, so she can make up for the grief she caused him over thirty years ago.

In the process, she nearly destroys their life, causing Amanda to almost lose her thumb, Kip's beloved sailboat, Manda, to sail off with no one on board, Amanda to run off, and a variety of small calamities along the way.