It is a jangling and disintegrating near-future, a world in which virtual reality has become the primary means of entertainment and the more significant part of life for most of the population. Here, Douglas Hall's employer, Horace Siskin, the President of Reaction Inc., has created a synthetic world as a demonstration; a virtual l937 New Orleans in which Hall and his superiors Fuller and Lynch, live much of their lives. But when Fuller is murdered and Lynch disappears, governmental scrutiny and investigation threaten to destroy Reaction. Thus, Hall must find his way through this strange New Orleans to determine the identity of the murderer and the motive. He must, he comes to understand, apprehend the killer before both worlds, virtual and "real", have been destroyed. The identity of the murderer is a stunning surprise. It capsizes the reader's seeming understanding of the novel and casts light as well on the true meaning of virtual reality.