A dramatic "down the rabbit hole" excursion involving a jeweler, a thief and a rat. This novelette by Frank Severino runs the gambit of existential queries and twists of fate. It plunges the reader down a dark flume and delivers bright resolution from unlikely sources.

Herbert is a watchmaker struggling to make a living in an age of mass-produced, disposible electronics. A dangerous new customer, with a mysterious link to his past, opens a world of anxiety (and opportunity) for this humble jeweler.