Can a man change his stars? Can he ever really rise above? These are the questions that plague our mortal souls. Bryce Finley, a 48-year-old Canadian single father with an unfinished university degree, two nearly grown children, and no visible (future) means of support, is about to find out. After three years working at his local university, he decides to hit the books and go back to finish his degree and show his kids he never meant to be a dropout. His eldest has already quit high school, but is there still time to show the youngest one? When his university contract ends, completing his long-delayed education in art history proves to be financially difficult, so he jumps at the chance to study - with the aid of a small scholarship - as an international exchange student in Europe. What follows is a life in a cramped student dorm in an industrial town in Germany that is - luckily - an ideal jumping off point for visiting the great art capitals of Europe. Life-changing experiences follow, along with chances to reflect and improve upon a life some have called a financial train wreck, in which only one of his two kids might ever graduate from high school, and in which our hero finally realizes he never, ever, decided what to be when he grew up. But that was then, this is now, and class is in session. With style, humour, and cunning linguistics, Finley makes his way through his last year of university, the great museums of Europe, and the social fabrics of a handful of European countries, to emerge a wiser, more-educated, and potentially more-employable person.