The story follows two brothers—one outgoing, the other painfully introverted—as they watch their electric fan business go under in the face of competition from the air conditioning industry.

[4] Part One of the story opens in 1997 with Abe Matchcard speaking to the reader while puttering around his home, the old Clyde Fans building in Toronto.

Finally, Abe decides to return to the Clyde Fans building, to spend the rest of his life there, but his car breaks down at the side of the road.

In his reverie, Simon has visions of deserted, decaying Ontario buildings and landscapes, and concludes that he is meant to live the life of a recluse.

"[4] The story is drawn in Seth's familiar wobbly, thick-stroked brush cartooning,[10] "deceptively simple and expressive lines, unhurried, exact, and luxurious; shading rich with texture.

"[5] As in It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken, the artwork was done using a two-colour process, with black and white "aerodynamic"[4] linework accented with grey and blue shading[11] on beige-coloured paper.

[4] Seth attempted to move away from traditional comic book storytelling techniques by slowing down the narrative and making use of silent panels, "giving a story as much length and breathing space as it needs to be told".