Told in the alternating voices of Cage, Harper, and their parents, Cages Bend is the story of a family damaged by tragedy and unfulfilled dreams and renewed by the unshakable bonds of love. Cage, Nick, and Harper appear to be the archetypal sons of the ideal American family of the 1960s and 70s. The firstborn, Cage, is the golden boystar athlete and scholar, adventurous, handsome, and preternaturally popular; Nick is the quiet, late-blooming middle son; and Harper, 10 years younger, chases after his older siblings, trying not to be left out. With the tragic death of Nick in the 1980s, the breakdown of the family begins. Cages guilt triggers incipient mental illness and the next two decades find him swinging between mania and depression, between grim institutions and comebacks. Harper, who has achieved early success on Wall Street, is torn between wanting to help his brother and seeking escape from his ghosts in an endless stream of women.