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Oskar's grandfather and Great Aunt, Anna, fall in love. Anna gets pregnant, but is killed in the bombing of Dresden near the end of World War II.
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Oskar's grandfather marries Anna's sister, Oskar's grandmother.
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Oskar's grandmother finds out she is pregnant with his father. The grandfather leaves because he needs to make himself happy.
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Oskar's father tucks him into bed and tells him the story of the sixth borough.
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Oskar's father was in one of the buildings for a meeting when it came crashing down. His father left him multiple voicemails that he kept to himself. His father's body was never found.
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His father's empty coffin was buried. The family had a funeral for him, but Oskar thought is was pointless because his body wasn't even in the casket.
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Oskar's grandfather shows up at his grandmother's house. She allows him to stay and grieve for their lost son but forbids him from seeing Oskar. He stays in the guest room for two years before Oskar even sees him.
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Oskar goes into his father's room for the first time since his death. He looks through his closet to find a vase with a envelope inside. The envelope had "Black" on the back and a key inside.
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Oskar goes around the city looking for clues as to what this key might unlock. He ends up in an art studio and finds his fathers name tested out all over. The cashier tells him that she believes it is a last name, not a color, since it is capitalized.
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Oskar goes through the phone book to decide where he will start. He decides to go through the list alphabetical. He starts that weekend and goes to Abby Black's House. She claims not to know anything about the key but he doesn't believe her.
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Oskar goes to the room directly above his to search for Mr. Black. Oskar turns back on Mr. Black's hearing aids after they have been off for years. Mr. Black doesn't know anything but he does agree to accompany Oskar on his journey.
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After months of searching, Mr. Black has decided to leave the journey to Oskar. He has discovered Oskar's grandfather has been following and watching them this whole time. Mr. Black thanks Oskar for helping him come back into the world and they part ways.
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Oskar goes over to his grandmother's house to talk to her but she is not there so he begs the renter to let him in. The renter (his grandfather) lets him in and listens to the problems he has been having lately.
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Oskar's grandfather agrees to help Oskar dig up his fathers coffin and help him put some of his personal items in it. Oskar's grandfather shows up with suitcases full of letters he wrote to his son (Oskar's father) and puts those in the coffin.
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After years of Oskar being distant with his mother, he came home and talked to her about how he felt and what he was going through. She understood and explained it was not easy for her either. He then reversed the pages of the man falling out of the building, so it looked like he was floating up.
