The novel is mainly about the main character - whose name we never learn - grieving for the loss of her best friend. She is left with Apollo, the dead writer's dog, a Great Dane. Both the main character and her dead friend are writers, so we get glimpses into the writing life as well. Nunez moves fluidly between the themes of the book - she writes a scene with the dog, and suddenly we are transported to ideas about the meaning of fiction, and fiction as autobiography, or who owns a story and has the right to write about it. This is a book for everyone, not only for those grieving the death of a loved one. Dog lovers, in particular, will enjoy this book, as the tender love between the main character and Apollo is as central a theme as the grieving.