The author carefully reveals the reasons for Ove's "challenging" personality as he interacts with his new neighbors, an old friend, two teen-age boys and a stray cat. He is a curmudgeon, who sees nothing to live for since the death of his wife. His days are filled with planning his suicide, which he would carry out save for the interruptions by his new neighbor and his inability to refuse to aid those who need his help. As the details of his life emerge, the reader sees what lies beneath his rough exterior and comes to understand how the events of one's life can bring one to the brink of self destruction and the love and concern of others can pull one back into a dance with life.