InFlesh and Blood,Michael Cunningham takes us on a masterful journeythrough four generations of the Stassos family as he examines the dynamics ofa family struggling to "come of age" in the 20th century.In 1950, Constantine Stassos, a Greek immigrant laborer, marries Mary Cuccio, anItalian-American girl, and together they produce three children: Susan, an ambitiousbeauty, Billy, a brilliant homosexual, and Zoe, a wild child. Over the years, a web oftangled longings, love, inadequacies and unfulfilled dreams unfolds as Mary andConstantine's marriage fails and Susan, Billy, and Zoe leave to make families oftheir own. Zoe raises a child with the help of a transvestite, Billy makes a lifewith another man, and Susan raises a son conceived in secret, each extendingthe meaning of family and love. With the power of a Greek tragedy, the storybuilds to a heartbreaking crescendo, allowing a glimpse into contemporary lifewhich will echo in one's heart for years to come.