Royal Tenenbaum and his wife, Etheline, had three children-Chas, Margo, and Richie-and then they separated. Chas bought real estate and had a preternatural understanding of international finance. Margot was a playwrite and earned a scholarship in ninth grade. Richie was a junior champion tennis player and won the U.S. Nationals three years in a row. After two decades of betrayal, failure, and distaster, all memories of their greatness has been forgotten.