Haunted by a failed romance and the death of his escape-artist brother, Ernie Weiss is a washed-up stage magician whose remaining hope lies in his ageing mentor, Al Fosso. But Al is slipping further into senility with each passing day. Meanwhile, Esther O'Dea, Ernie's ex-love, struggles to find peace in her own life, and then a con-man named Nathan Lender sets some mysterious plans in motion that will affect the futures of them all. Fascinating and tragicomic, Jar of Fools is a classic of its genre.