There's a bizarre funeral, a victrola in a car trunk, and a lot of Irish sass. The novella opens at a funeral for a grumpy old man. The only people there are distant, money-grabbing relatives. That is, until a strange woman walks in, holds the hand of the deceased, and walks out, leaving everyone confused and intrigued. Before this woman of mystery leaves the funeral, she tells the guests that she and the deceased were once engaged.

The story then flashes back to the morning she found out about the funeral, giving us a bit of insight into this woman named Claire Ryan and why she felt the need to attend this funeral. After this, the story goes back to her childhood, growing up in the immigrant quarter of Chicago in the 1930s...