Wilson is an eccentric and first-rate misanthrope. With brutal honesty, he unsolicitedly shares his opinions with others and inundates them with unrestrained lamentation. However, behind his cynical facade lies a lonely man. When his father dies, Wilson is left completely alone. In an effort to turn his life around, he sets out to find his ex-wife—but he discovers not only her but also a teenage daughter of whose existence he was completely unaware. In a series of episodes, Daniel Clowes unfolds the life of his protagonist before the reader, episodes that gradually coalesce into a portrait of great authenticity and depth.