Jack Burns, the hero of the tale, is four years old when it all begins. He is the illegitimate son of Daughter Alice, a tattoo artist and, guess what, daughter of a tattoo artist. She takes Jack on a pilgrimage to find his womanizing father, William, a church organist and "ink addict." By seeking out church organs and tattoo parlors, she expects to find him. She doesn't, and by now we have spent more than a hundred pages in Northern European cities doing an imitation of Groundhog Day. Same story, different day: a little prostitution for Alice, a few questions asked; alas, no daddy.

Ⅰ The North Sea

 In the Care of Churchgoers and Old Girls

 Saved by the Littlest Soldier

 Rescued by a Swedish Accountant

 No Luck in Norway

 Failure in Finland

 God's Holy Noise

 Also Not on Their Itinerary

Ⅱ The Sea of Girls

 Safe Among the Girls

 Not Old Enough

 His Audience of One

 His Father Inside Him

 Not just Another Rose of Jericho

 Not Your Usual Mail-Order Bride

 Mrs. Machado

 Friends for Life

Ⅲ

 Lucky

 Frost Heaves

 Michele Maher, and Others

 Enter Claudia; Exit Mrs. McQuat

 Claudia, Who Would Haunt Him

 Two Canadians in the City of Angels

 Two Candles, Burning

 Money Shots

Ⅳ Sleeping in the Needles

 Billy Rainbow

 The Button Trick

 Daughter Alice Goes Home

 A Faithless Boy

 The Commandant's Daughter; Her Little Brother

 The Wrong Tattoo

 The Truth

 The Deal

Ⅴ Dr. Garc{a

 Therapy

 Straining to See

 Signs of Trouble

 Halifax

 Forgettable

 Claudia's Ghost

 Edinburgh

 Zurich

 The Musician