"At the center is Joe Domino, a famous clown who has now retired. Driving South with his wife, he runs into a small cirucs stranded and bankrupt in a Georgia town. The lure and challenge seize hold of Domino: he becomes owner of Cosmos Brothers Great International Combined Circus. Because the old clown is indomitable in pursuit of his dream, he figures a way to survive disaster after disaster as cosmos Brothers caravansfrom one town to another. As Borden Deal tells the story, he makes the reader see and feel the oddly exotic world of circus people. the people in Domino's circus spring to life - the Skodas, the Great Hungarian equestrian troupe; The Flying Morales; the roust-abouts; and as important as anyone, a veterna of the big top, the elephant Big Mama." -- book cover