Edgar is the teacher of a third grade class that is trying to understand all the death that has infiltrated the class projects. They lose, in the space of a couple months, a set of orange trees, an herb garden, snakes, fish, and a puppy. Meanwhile, two of his students are killed in an accident and several parents die in various ways. The teacher talks to the class about death, and he is forced to answer some unusually philosophical questions. The children ask him to make love to his teaching assistant for them. He is about to when a new gerbil arrives.