Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous times having a circus. In the Major depression Era, Jacob, locating himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers ‘Many Spectacular Present on Earth’. There he meets the freaks, grifters, and misfits that populate this world: Marlena, beautiful star from the equestrian take action; August, her charismatic but twisted spouse (and the circus’s pet trainer); and Rosie, the apparently untrainable elephant Jacob cares for.