A brilliant novel about history, the forgetting and rewriting of it, and a satire on a society that has lost compassion in the process. Smooch is a 'Whistler', a genetically altered lapdog with special talents, including the ability to remember his previous incarnations and to communicate directly from his brain by electronically downloading his thoughts onto disc. Smooch has been reincarnated many times, and has lived on many of the great laps of history, past and future. He can recall many of history's key moments, such as the birth of Jesus and the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots. The Whistler is a virtuosic feat: wise, funny and intelligent. Smooch's current reincarnation is in Sydney in the year 2318. The world has gone to hell: democratic government worldwide has given way to a society run by corporations, pollution is everywhere, and society is heavily stratified between the haves and have nots.