Low blows from the high-finance, Wall Street greed-group (and groupies) nearly extinguish the togetherness of three Ohio siblings and families in this hortatory tale, a Plain Bonfire (here, more of a Bic-flick) of contemporary vanities. For the faithful readership, there are familiar goodies along with the uplift: meteoric rises to fortune, glamorous settings, and lots and lots of luxury. In 1976, gathered in the family home in a small Ohio town after their mother's death, are Lara, her husband Davey, sister Connie, and brother Eddy. But only Connie and Eddy suffer from little-town blues. Lara is devoted to Davey, who will eventually start his own factory making medical equipment, but she has one grief--they're childless. Meanwhile, Connie, in Houston and New York, and Eddy, on Wall Street, begin a rocket ascent. Connie marries nice, wealthy Richard (who has a sad secret), divorces, and then marries expansive, rich Martin. And Eddy, it seems, has a magic money-touch. (His library walls ``of rich French boiserie were precious. The needlepoint rug was handmade. Above the fireplace...a Sargent?'') But Eddy has also been dealing dirty and, with all good intentions, has put Davey's factory in jeopardy. Eddy is headed for a giant fall. Martin, too, is sure he's helping Davey by suggesting and aiding a takeover. On the domestic front, Lara's motherhood dreams come true, and Connie suffers a tragedy (although she makes ``a stunning widow, slender in black with a single strand of eleven-millimeter pearls'') before finding a lasting love. It all ends with the siblings and families reunited around a Thanksgiving table, the two high-flyers poorer but wiser.
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