Opgroeiend in een door de oorlog verscheurd Hongarije, ontdekt verteller András Vajda dat hij niet op jonge meisjes valt, maar juist de wat rijpere vrouw opzoekt. De hoofdpersoon verhaalt over zijn ontmoetingen met middelbare vrouwen en wat zij hem hebben geleerd over seks, liefde en de wereld.
At the turn of the century, New York's sandhogs burrowed beneath the East River, digging the tunnels that would link Brooklyn to Manhattan; many decades later, those same tunnels offer refuge to the desperate and homeless. Spanning 70 years, McCann's acclaimed novel tells the story of three generations bound to the tunnels by ill-fated loves, unintended crimes, and social taboos.
The first shots are fired when Erica discovers that her husband is sleeping with a blond student named Wendy. Brian tries to make peace by announcing that he is breaking off the affair, and his wife promises to forgive him, but both fail to observe the terms of the truce. Erica frets and spies; Brian not only takes up with Wendy again, but makes her pregnant; and the war between the Tates is joined.