Focusing on the paralegal's role in a real estate transaction—rather than on the abundance of documents—this innovative text 1) demonstrates that the actual job is not “just paperwork” but dealing with real people at an emotional time in their lives, and 2) emphasizes that good paralegals can make a difference in their clients' lives and the working conditions of the other professionals involved. Using a minimum of technicality, a light-hearted approach, and much positive reinforcement, it follows, from beginning to end, a fictional story of one real estate transfer with a built-in problem (“the garden variety purchase of a home”).