An old man stumbles on the ultimate Truth to life and the universe, but there is only one person he can tell-a young man who is unstable, dangerous, and on the run. The young man, Matthew, escapes from a psychiatric hospital and heads into the mountains, armed and desperate. He stumbles out of a snowstorm onto a farm, where he finds the old man, Jack, who eerily resembles Matthew's hated father. Years ago, Jack woke from a coma, with a bullet in his head. And with a strange source of enlightenment, which reveals to him how the universe works and how to make it bend to his will-which he does with spectacular success. But now, near the end of his life, he wants to pass on the priceless knowledge, so he uses his powers to summon an audience. What he gets is Matthew. As the ancient wisdom is revealed, Jack is increasingly disturbed by his dangerous pupil and turns to the mysterious and beautiful Siobhan for advice. Who is she? What is she? The eternal truths of existence are played out at every level.