The rapacious elegiac (rap elie) was a unique san francisco enterprise, owned by schmuel moishe sneidar, a former stand-up comic. the place operated as brokers providing their customers things they needed to get into show business: screenplays, scenery designers, writers, performers, you name it, and the rap elie had an associate who would provide it. mordechai and his partner, sonia had a world-famous mind reading act since before wwii. early rap elie associates, they serviced customers by teaching them the skill of mind reading. even with success as a rap elie associate, sonia continued her sideline as a fortune teller. her clientele involved some very famous people, including nancy reagan, the president's wife. after her identity as nancy reagan's advisor was discovered, sonia confessed to schmuel that she actually could read people's thoughts. people who recently lost a close family member or, like nancy, were anxious about events, like their husband almost being assassinated. sonia's children bennie, and micky, knew that sonia's mind reading act was frequently for real. micky was transgender and suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder, the type associated with having repulsive thoughts. not a disorder to have with a mother who could read those thoughts. bennie and micky did not have fond memories of sonia's parenting skills while growing up. it was in this setting that greed, distrust and even antisemitism comes into play, making for an interesting look into the lives of a different type of character not well understood, by many