Sam Ross's novel is presented through the eyes of young Hershel Melov, the only child of an Eastern European immigrant family living in Chicago at the close of World War I. There are two legacies working at odds within the family; one is their old-world Ukranian heritage, and the other comes in the form of an insurance bequest which his father receives after Hershel's uncle is killed while fighting in Europe. The money has a disastrous effect upon the family who prove inept players in the American "success" game.