Constantly moving - from South Africa to the Persian Gulf to Rhodesia to England, and ultimately to suburban New Jersey - the Laments are a quirky and lovable family who live by the motto "anywhere but here." The main character, Will Lament, whom the Laments take home from the hospital as a result of a bizarre mix-up in a hospital, grows up feeling that he doesn't belong. For after all, there is his father, an idealistic engineer; his mother, a woman of indomitable spirit with a passion for Shakespeare; and his twin brothers Marcus and Julius who are nothing but trouble. What makes this quirky family so universal is Will's search for identity and the Laments' unwieldy love for one another - even in the most difficult of times.