And So Forth

When the curtain falls on the life of a bitter, self-absorbed actor, he leaves behind two resentful children—Sophie and Ambrose—and one final act of cruelty: his entire estate bequeathed not to them but to his office geranium, Henrietta. Under the dutiful care of his accountant and executor, Martin, the plant thrives while his heirs plot to destroy it and claim what they believe is rightfully theirs.

But for the narrator, at least, death is only an intermission. What follows is a surreal and...