"Did you ever wonder what it would be like to be one of the characters in a novel?" For bookseller Elisha Bookbinder, it's more than just a rhetorical question, because he's convinced that's exactly what he and everyone he's ever met really are-characters in a fictional tale being crafted by an unseen author. At first, his epiphany is deeply disturbing, but as Elisha comes to grips with his startling new worldview, he wrestles with its weighty implications: Is he real? Does he have free will? Whom should he share his discovery with, if he dare share it at all? Are the author's intentions noble or wicked? Can Elisha make contact with his creator and if so, should he? And most troubling of all, why do the people he crosses paths with seem to meet such unfortunate ends? As Elisha searches for understanding and purpose, both his questions and the answers turn out to be not so different from our own.