The residents of a Toronto slum face the encroaching threat of urban renewal as their neighborhood undergoes forced transformation. As the district of Cabbagetown is dismantled by developers, the protagonist and their neighbors struggle to maintain their community ties and personal dignity against the tide of modernization. The narrative tracks the displacement of long-term inhabitants, highlighting the friction between individual history and institutional progress. Written with a focus on social observation, the story captures the physical decay of the environment alongside the psychological toll of losing one's home.

This novel is regarded as a significant contribution to Canadian social realism, serving as a poignant conclusion to Garner's long-running exploration of Cabbagetown. The work is noted for its unflinching look at the human cost of urban planning and the inevitable loss of local identity. Readers often highlight the author's ability to ground broad social themes in the specific, lived experiences of his characters. The narrative provides a somber reflection on the transience of urban spaces and the resilience of those caught in the path of development.