In Under the Big Top, Bruce Feiler tells two parallel stories. The first is a unique look behind the stoic masks of circus performers - at the fears of stepping into a cage with nine tigers, at the anxiety of learning a new trick on the flying trapeze. The second is an uncensored glance into the secret, often seedy private lives of these performers, filled with sin and sacrifice, sex and death. Masterfully weaving these two tales, Feiler has created a riveting portrait of the marginal world of the circus as it collides every day with mainstream America.