This novel, set in Amherst, Massachusetts, tells the story of a promising philosophy PHD student, Sam O'Connor, who takes a life-changing journey to Switzerland to attend an advanced ten-week curse on Transcendental Meditation as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Sam is challenged by Maharishi to create and teach a class on Being which integrates Eastern and Western philosophies. The subsequent success of Sam's lectures at Amherst College propels him onto the national stage, but midway through a book tour tragedy strikes, and in its wake Sam fades quickly into obscurity and nine years of deep introspection. Sam has a chance encounter with Julian Driscoll, a philosophy major at Amherst College, and they begin meeting at a local cafe to discuss enlightenment, consciousness, and the causes of suffering. Julian coaxes Sam to once again confront his destiny."