Page "Only Begotten Daughter" Paragraph 7

She is ten years old when she meets her “ mother ’ s oldest friend ,” Mr. Wyvern ; the plot thereafter is derived from the intervention of family, fun in the Absecon inlet, the guiding phantom eye of Pastor Billy Milk, his fundamentalist sheep roving Atlantic City with juice jugs of milk, and the problems posed by her extra gifts.

The overarching story of the book is that of a satirical theodicy, questioning why human beings suffer from evil and pain, and exploring the ingenuity with which we combat those conditions.