Facing the disarray and disorientation around his father's death, a man contends with the strange and haunting power of the house his parents once lived in. At the same time, he embarks on an eccentric side project, building a tank in the dining room of his parents' home to house four manta rays. As he grows increasingly obsessed with his new project, his grip on reality seems to slip. Tender, absorbing and shockingly funny, this extraordinary first novel from critical theorist Nicholas Royle confronts the mad hand of grief and celebrates the power of language.