Pandora has looked up to her older brother Edison since they were children. Now she revels in the anonymity of her suburban Iowa life, while her brother basks in the limelight as a New York jazz musician. But when Edison arrives in Iowa, suddenly in need of a place to stay, Pandora literally doesn’t recognize him. The once slim, hip pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened?

Soon Edison’s appalling diet and know-it-all monologues are driving Pandora and her husband Fletcher insane. And it’s only a matter of time before Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum, it’s him or me.

With Shriver’s distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big Brother not only examines why we overeat, but asks more pressingly still: just how much should you sacrifice for someone who refuses to be saved?