This is the tale of a Southern ghost, Mavis Banks Book, who returns to her beloved Atlanta home on a fine spring day in 1996, ten years after her funeral. It is also the story of Niki Banks and Jack Rainwater, unlikely and unwilling roommates in Mavis' house. And finally, it is the story of a city-sized stray dog of unrecognizable heritage that appears in a terrifying thunderstorm. All four are offered a chance, a last chance, and it will take a friend with a fondness for Vodka martinis, the ability to see the past through new eyes, and the courage to take a risk for each to accept that chance, and to hold on to it.