Professor Harry Butler finds his academic life and domestic stability unraveling as he becomes entangled in a web of police surveillance, marital estrangement, and professional scrutiny. Harry attempts to maintain his intellectual focus on the mind-body problem while his home is transformed into a spiritual retreat by his wife and a surveillance post by the local drug squad. The narrative is complicated by his past indiscretions in Singapore and a precarious relationship with a student that draws the ire of his university colleagues. The story employs a meta-fictional framework, questioning the identity of the narrator and the necessity of a mysterious woman named Uta Haverstrom to the act of writing the book itself.

This novel presents a complex, layered narrative that invites readers to engage with its shifting perspectives and meta-fictional inquiries. The work suggests a focus on the intersection of intellectual abstraction and the messy, intrusive realities of daily life. Its tone likely balances academic satire with the tension of a domestic mystery, creating a distinct atmosphere of uncertainty. The text appears to challenge the reader to discern the boundaries between the author, the narrator, and the characters within the story.