Jack Burns, the hero of the tale, is four years old when it all begins. He is the illegitimate son of Daughter Alice, a tattoo artist and, guess what, daughter of a tattoo artist. She takes Jack on a pilgrimage to find his womanizing father, William, a church organist and "ink addict." By seeking out church organs and tattoo parlors, she expects to find him. She doesn't, and by now we have spent more than a hundred pages in Northern European cities doing an imitation of Groundhog Day. Same story, different day: a little prostitution for Alice, a few questions asked; alas, no daddy.
Ⅰ The North Sea
In the Care of Churchgoers and Old Girls
Saved by the Littlest Soldier
Rescued by a Swedish Accountant
No Luck in Norway
Failure in Finland
God's Holy Noise
Also Not on Their Itinerary
Ⅱ The Sea of Girls
Safe Among the Girls
Not Old Enough
His Audience of One
His Father Inside Him
Not just Another Rose of Jericho
Not Your Usual Mail-Order Bride
Mrs. Machado
Friends for Life
Ⅲ
Lucky
Frost Heaves
Michele Maher, and Others
Enter Claudia; Exit Mrs. McQuat
Claudia, Who Would Haunt Him
Two Canadians in the City of Angels
Two Candles, Burning
Money Shots
Ⅳ Sleeping in the Needles
Billy Rainbow
The Button Trick
Daughter Alice Goes Home
A Faithless Boy
The Commandant's Daughter; Her Little Brother
The Wrong Tattoo
The Truth
The Deal
Ⅴ Dr. Garc{a
Therapy
Straining to See
Signs of Trouble
Halifax
Forgettable
Claudia's Ghost
Edinburgh
Zurich
The Musician