When Fran was 14, her mother walked out and never returned, leaving her daughter to fend for herself in a lonely Ontario farmhouse. Now Fran is 18, and her mother is calling every night at precisely six o'clock from points unknown to tell stories about their large, unusual family.At first Fran is reluctant to renew her relationship with the mother who abandoned her. But soon she is drawn into these odd tales of saints, murderers, theatrical thieves, and pistol-packing grandmothers -- tales that will change Fran's life forever.