NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. Michael Jian's new novel "Sh-Boom, The Way of the World" tells a story, forward-and-backward looking, of a man late in life who suddenly realizes Plan A is dead- on-arrival. The job market does not want a newly-minted, but not young, Ph.D., even one an accomplished entrepreneur and business executive.

The hero in this story is broke, heavily in debt from student loans and without a wife or a girlfriend. His family and loved ones are a plane ride away. He relies on faith and prayer. Yet, apart from scams that continually dash hopes, the years pass, his Plan B's are ephemeral.

"Sh-Boom' is not easy to describe because it is a panorama of episodes of life's ups-and-downs," Jian says. "It is a love story, for sure. Yet it is mostly a jewel of exhibiting the self-interest motive of human behavior. Tears and joy, hopes and dreams, success and failure, betrayal and instances to excite the heart. Even a surprise ending."

For readers who enjoy a long tale guaranteed to bring out emotions, Sh-Boom is it. Believable characters, exotic places, the centrality of faith and one of true love.