The Designated Mourner tells the story of three people: Howard — a poet, essayist, and intellectual — who is from a privileged background but who has been critical of the right-wing regime that rules his country. Judy, his daughter, a subtle, witty and deep-feeling woman, who reveres her father; and Jack, Judy’s husband, a protégé of Howard’s who later refutes and abandons everything his mentor stands for. Judy was initially drawn to Jack because he offered a refuge from the high intellectual standards imposed by her father but Jack’s cynicism and his unwillingness to submit to the intellectual hypocrisy of their circle causes deep conflict within the family. When a group that Howard had supported rebels against the current regime, things become increasingly tense and complex. Suddenly issues such as what sort of books people like to read and how they choose to amuse themselves become both grimly personal and unexpectedly entangled with questions of survival.