Odd but endearing fantasy about some carnival sideshow freaks who must extricate themselves from a truck teetering on the brink of a chasm. Marco, the sideshow's deaf-mute Strong Man, accidentally kills a mad girl; her red-neck brothers shoot Marco and take after the rest of the troupe. Lecherous sideshow owner Will Carney, a juggler until his hand was mangled, drives their truck at terrifying speed through the mountains, the red-necks in hot pursuit; after the inevitable crash, the truck ends up delicately balanced on the edge of a precipice, as the rain pours down and the rednecks hurtle to destruction. Will and the dying Marco are trapped in the cab up front; in the back are: the beautiful, blind, albino Serena (she has unusual mental powers to compensate); Colonel John the Dwarf; Paulette the Fat Lady; and Pepino the Rubber Man. Serena's first task is to make the others believe in themselves; there is no hope of outside rescue. The story of their slow, tension-filled escape is interspersed with biographical passages, often as fascinating as the narrative itself. The whole thing is beautifully articulated; the characters come pleasingly alive. Curious, different, certainly worth a try.