Macon Leary, the middle-aged author of a series of books for armchair travellers, has recently had his grief over the murder of his son compounded by the breakup of his marriage. He begins to descend into obsessive behavior and must soon take refuge with his unmarried sister, who is already occupied with the two other Leary brothers, both of whom are also divorced. Macon's unlikely rescuer is Muriel, an eccentric dog trainer who tames Edward, the increasingly obnoxious corgi left to Macon by his son. Macon transcends his own social class prejudice to find that he has a lot to offer Muriel and her disabled son Alexander, and that they have much to offer him as well.