Dean Arnold, the main character of the first part of this trilogy, continues his quest for peace of mind. To do this he feels the need to be free from all the mental torture he has been experiencing. The guilt he feels in his little brother's death, coupled with his mother's cold rejection of him, plus the loss of his first love and the strange behavior of his father give him sufficient cause to escape. His departure from home came as a whim. He wondered what his brother's Harley would feel like when fully loaded for a long trip. Before he knew it he was headed east on highway 20 and he never looked back. Dean Arnold soon finds out freedom has its cost. Along the way he pays the toll. Good and evil are his companions and he switches between the two. Pete Leocker, a peg-legged artist, Decker, and escapee from and asylum, and a beautiful blind singer are instructors for him as he attends the University of Life. Dean Arnold, eager to understand the meaning of his existence, reaches out and grabs life by every branch of knowledge he can and holds on for dear life.