After a decade of revelry among the bums, pimps, and prostitutes, Quincas Wateryell, king of the Bahia lowlife, goes to meet his Maker. His prim family promptly claims the corpse for a proper burial. But even in his middle-class coffin, Quincas still sneers at them. And when four of his cronies and a bottle of run arrive at the wake, Quincas decides the party might be too good to miss.