Lawrence Wetherhold is miserable and misanthropic: he s a widower, a pompous professor at Carnegie Mellon, an indifferent father to a college student and a high school senior, and the reluctant brother of a ne er do well who s come to town. A seizure and a fall send Lawrence to the emergency room where the physician, a former student of his, ends up going on a date with him. His daughter, Vanessa, lonely and friendless, who s been bonding with his brother, tries to sabotage dad and the doctor s relationship, but Lawrence is good at that without help. Is there any way these smart people can get a life? Can happiness be pursued beneath layers of irony?