from the front flap:
This is a circus novel, told by one of the most gifted story-tellers writing today. At the center is Joe Domino, a famous clown who has retired. Driving South with his wife, he runs into a small circus stranded and bankrupt in a Georgia town. The lure and challenge seize hold of Domino: he becomes owner of Cosmos Brothers Great International Combined Circus. Because the old clown is indomitable in pursuit of his dreams, he figures a way to survive disaster after disaster as Cosmos Brothers caravans from one town to another. As Borden Deal tells the story, he makes the reader see and feel the oddly exotic world of circus people. The people in Domino's circus spring to life - the Skodas, the Great Hungarian equestrian troupe; The Flying Morales; the roustabouts; and as important as anyone, a veteran of the big top, the elephant Big Mama. Mr Deal's narrative moves with humor and pathos, and beneath its surface he probes to the essence of Harlequin, to the spirit of Circus.