Shadowboxing with Bukowski tells a bizarro tale of Nicholas Kastinovich, a young bookseller who struggles to keep his bookstore afloat in the harbor town of San Pedro, CA, ostracized by fellow business owners, in a marriage on the rocks, in a town where Charles Bukowski dwells. Pushed to the edge by many things, not least of which is the curmudgeonly ghost of the former owner, the intrepid book lover fights the noble battle against mediocrity and apathy.