Anderson is a mystery novel inspired by film noir and gothic/supernatural pulp fiction novels. It playfully keeps the reader guessing about what is real and what is fantasy, and uses elements of these pop-culture genres as metaphors of modern romance. The main character, Anderson, is a computer help desk clerk by day, by night a detective investigating occult mysteries. Perhaps he's playing out a harmless fantasy, or perhaps he is insane, but either way, he finds a woman he believes to be haunted by a ghost. Perhaps she really is, or perhaps she is insane, or perhaps she is a femme fatal, who's playing him for a fool. Regardless, the more Anderson investigates, the more he is drawn to her, until he starts to suspect that he himself is also being haunted. When do others become a threat, a controlling mechanism that confuses self-identity? When do others serve to free the self from its own egoic binds? The novel is in part a meditation on trust, on the dynamics of social boundaries, and on the mystery ("magic") of desire. Indeed, desire may be the true ghost in any relationship. Boyce asks, Why should Anderson feel lonely, when he's surrounded by the mysteries?