It begins with the funeral of Elena Beauchamp, an eccentric Southern woman prone to fits of clairvoyance and possession. She is survived by her long-suffering husband and two daughters, Candy and Toni. She has always disliked magic, but her mother's final gift to Toni is a drink of Mockingbird Cordial, which passes Elena's supernatural gifts on to her unwilling daughter. Toni, who much preferred a head full of actuarial tables to one full of her mother's demons, finds her life pulling apart under the strain.
Most fantasies treat magic as a benevolent force or a tool that can be mastered.
Through Toni's eyes, magic is an implacable and dangerous phenomenon. Like monsters in the closet, it's inherently unknowable, and therefore uncontrollable. Stewart's narrative voice is clear and distinct, with the poignancy and tangible Southern atmosphere of Michael Bishop's better books. The dialogue is earthy and frank. The relationships and responsibilities among the female characters are portrayed in considerably more depth than the romantic relationships, which is unusual.