The fates have brought together at the Al Tarik, a century-old San Francisco pile, a colorful collection of mismatched old timers -- all folks who have been roughed up somewhat by heavy surf and tossed on the rocks. The book is about these tenants, their histories and how each in their own valiant, cantankerous and often hilarious way seeks to shape a life and environment for themselves as defense against a world that no longer finds them relevant.