The hero of this humourous book is the son of a circus-owning lawn flamingo. The young plastic pink flamingo runs away from the circus to the big city, attracted by its superficial pleasures, and joins a gang of car-stealing lawn gnomes. For him at least, crime does pay and he finds financial stability. But wealth is not enough and he yearns for meaning in a hollow world. He joins a cult, hoping to meet movie stars, and seeks to discover himself as a bird. Nothing satisfies until he meets a group of artists in a bowling league and becomes an abstract expressionist. He flees to the north, painting wanted posters, is discovered, and achieves the recognition he craves. He sails off into the sunset seeking the remains of the lost civilization of Lemuria.