As hard to describe as it is to put down, this book takes you on a first-person tour of a contemplative person's mind as he questions his relationships, his personal history, and his ability to change. Operating on the belief that the universal is best approached through the particular, Daniel Hieber introduces us to classics professor Samuel Janus. A middle-of-the-night phone call sets the events in motion, and we see the thought processes of Samuel's active mind play out in real time as he does his best to come to an understanding of his situation, how he got in that situation, and how the situation might unfold. With hints of Vonnegut and 19th-century Russian literature, Daniel Hieber has produced a book that is at once engaging and challenging. Narrow in scope but rich in themes and allusions, this book can be enjoyed on many levels.