This is a story of fall from grace, ruin, and, ultimately, redemption. It is a story of acceptance, of change, of starting over and trying harder to be a better person. Pandemic House tells the story of a misshapen old house in a good neighborhood that has been perverted hopelessly by the addition of an Olympics-class diving platform in the back yard. That setup became a large part of the problem in the previous family. The new family is made up not only of members of the former owners, but other lost souls, too. The children of the former owner trickle back in. Their lives have fallen apart, and they have nowhere else to go. As the virus spreads around the globe and decimates Maricopa County, illicit and illegal treatment goes on, partly by necessity but more because of paranoia. It turns out to be a wonderful thing. Everyone becomes damaged by life. It is the way back that tests the mettle.

An aging oncologist used to really be somebody in the cancer field. He not only practiced but was intricately involved in a startup company that developed a breakthrough treatment for rare cancers. In the process, he accumulated a nice nest egg, only to see it mostly disappear in a wrongful death lawsuit involving this highly successful novel cancer drug. To top it off, his bad temper led him to slug the plaintiff’s lawyer on the courthouse steps, which claimed his reputation.

He and his wife sold their house, after being promised an ideal small house in Paradise Valley, complete with gardens. That deal fell through and, as the pandemic came in, they were forced to settle for a much larger house, a strange house with a bad past.

They move in, thinking they’ll use only a third of the house. Soon thereafter, however, the place begins filling up with lost souls. As the pandemic ravages the country, everyone in the house learns to cope, manage, and survive unthinkable times while living in unthinkable circumstances. Although the collection of people in the house are far from conventional, you might find that their experience quite like life in your house.