Returning to the millieu of Call It Sleep, Jewish Harlem at the beinning of century, Roth introduces us to 14 year old Ira Stigman and his extended family. It is 1914 and the family must contend with the impact of war on themselves their homelands. But Ira has other issues to contend with - sexuallity, the racism of his peers, a bullying and failed father, the search for his own identity...