The streets of San Francisco ooze with danger, sex, poets, and technology in this hard-boiled mystery, creating a story that is at turns hilarious, thrilling, and obscene. Set in the 1980s, this is the tale of an idealistic and angst-ridden writer who struggles with day-to-day responsibilities such as paying his rent on time. Exploring ways to exploit technology, the writer flirts with hacking, while dealing with a world of bars, bordellos, and the AIDS virus. When the writer learns the passwords to the inner workings of the publishing industry's digital realm, he finds himself facing dangers from unexpected places.