Following the death of their parents, three siblings engage in a bitter, escalating conflict over the ownership and future of their ancestral North Carolina mansion. Corlis McCrea, the protagonist, finds herself caught in the middle of a volatile power struggle between her timid, homebound younger brother and her abrasive, iconoclastic older brother. As the siblings attempt to navigate the legal and emotional complexities of their inheritance, they are forced to confront the lingering influence of their parents' liberal values and their own unresolved childhood dynamics. The narrative, delivered through a sharp, analytical lens, examines the physical and psychological weight of family legacies and the destructive nature of greed.

This novel is often characterized as a biting, unsentimental dissection of family dynamics and the corrosive nature of material inheritance. The narrative structure highlights the protagonist's struggle to reconcile her own identity with the expectations imposed by her parents and siblings. Readers and critics frequently note the author's ability to maintain a detached, clinical tone while exploring deeply personal and often uncomfortable family conflicts. The work is recognized for its refusal to offer easy resolutions, instead focusing on the messy, enduring reality of familial bonds and the burdens they carry.