In the coastal hills of northern California live three larger-than-life characters: two humans and one duck. There's Granddaddy Jake Santee, 99 years old, an unreformed gambler, cranky reprobate and fierce opponent of the work ethic. And Tiny, adopted at the age of four by Granddaddy Jake, he's a giant young man as gentle as Jake is belligerent. And then there's Fup, an uncompromising twenty-pound hen mallard, whose unique presence imposes a sense of order on the Santee household. Hilarious, heartwarming and magical, Fup is a contemporary fable that inspires an almost evangelical fervour in all who read it.