In Lisbon to attend a memorial service for his younger sister and her fellow students killed in a plane crash, seventeen-year-old Paul shares his introspection with her as he ponders the weaknesses of his parents and the meaning of life.
In order to protect her, Dora's parents put anything that might frighten or hurt her into a box and tell her never to open it, but when she eventually does, her life is enriched by what she finds.
Represents a variety of fathers, with lots of hair and little hair, making cookies and buying doughnuts, camping out and taking naps, and hugging and kissing their children.