The novel explores issues such as political correctness/cultural sensitivity, personal and private space, social media, freedom of speech, huckster media, the notion of originality, and most especially the nature of humour itself—what makes something funny, what subjects are taboo and why, what causes certain jokes to lose favour, and how does context affect what can or cannot be said. To further this approach, he takes the name Bruce Leonard and dresses a là TVs Columbo. On his downward spiral, the man meets some wild characters: a female stand-up comic who tends to mirror his routine and voyage, a prosecuting lawyer who uses court cases to promote her other role as author, an omnipresent drug dealer, a hipster talk show host who shills everything from diet plans to CDs with equal aplomb.