Thaddeus Barcelona has a passion for plants. As curator of the North River City Botanical Gardens, he is living his dream. He also has discovered a life equation and feels no compunction about sharing it with anyone else, but uses it to understand the assorted personalities in his orbit.
Philosophers, musicians, artists, a plastic mannequin, and a dog named Anubis enter into the fray of a contentious mayoral election in the city of North River. Thaddeus, who has no political aspirations or interest, slowly gets sucked into the eclectic menagerie of characters and bizarre plots that unfold as two ballot measures play on the cultural divides of the city. Thaddeus finds humor in the absurd events surrounding the election as the mayor's older sister challenges him, and bumbling, religiously inspired kidnappings stoke the delusional musings of a few poor souls.