I always enjoy Erma Bombeck's unique and broad brand of humor, whether she is taking on housekeeping, driving lessons, or hairstyles, she is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Granted, this book was originally written in the 1970s and there is a slightly dated hippie quality to the look of the teenagers in this book, the themes ring true today, as much as thirty years ago.

Endowed with the power to heal or destroy by the Roman god Mercury, Minnesota grade schooler Billy Michaels embarks on a strange lifelong journey. Mercury's gift to Billy is his staff, the caduceus--longtime symbol of the medical profession. Billy learns that the caduceus has remarkable healing benefits, but it also carries a terrible curse to those affected by it.  Both the child Billy and later the physician William wield this serpentine instrument as one might a sorcerer's wand. A multitude of major and supporting characters, a good many subplots, plus much dark and wicked humor all contribute to the tale's success.