Todd Mavette lives in the upper-middle-class splendor his formerly handsome income afforded, but years of neglecting his law practice in favor of his writing vocation have brought Todd and his family to the edge of financial collapse.
The news that he's not going to die has shattered Todd's life plan. He'd planned to bail his wife and child out financially by dying. He owns a very large term life insurance policy.
Todd's wife, like the female lead in The Floating Opera, is named Jane. She's always attractively dressed, groomed, made-up, coiffed and accessorized. She's never had a job in her life.
Todd and Jane have one child, Daniel, who is in his last year at Johns Hopkins. Dan is a bit lazy, a bit callow, a bit juvenile. A frat boy with marginal grades and an insatiable demand for small additions to his monthly allowance.
Todd's father is still alive, a wealthy old widower who grouses, apologizes for all the mistakes he made raising Todd, and relentlessly criticizes Todd for making the same mistakes raising Dan.
Next, in Act Three :Making The Floating Opera, Jane is strangely calm, Todd's casting takes a thrilling turn.