Terry is a young lad who spends his aimless childhood roaming the streets of Boston during the Second World War, engaging in childhood fantasies to escape an unstable family environment. During his adolescent and high school years, Terry discovers the art of juggling, which becomes his passion and his business, leading him into unusual situations. Foreign and domestic travel dominates Terry's young adult life with academic pursuits in Germany, France and Ireland, where more adventure abounds with a tour of Ireland as a performer with Duffy Circus. Misadventure follows Terry to Washington where, as a Naval officer, he becomes a linguist at the National Security Agency, and meets his wife - an analyst. The two "spooks" do the improbable and run away with the circus, spending fifteen years trouping around North America while raising a family.