But the final kicker comes when her hairdresser goes on vacation to Fiji, leaving Ruth to look like Dickens' Miss Havisham. A crazy kaleidoscope of characters such as the uptight gallery owner, Napoleon Prinn; half-baked Dimple Dent, writer of fortune cookie wisdom; Alva Hernandez, octogenarian newspaper boy, and the amorous town caterer, Monk, add to the chaos in the shadow of Finny's nose until Ruth finds herself in the ultimate do-or-die situation.