A novelist who teaches about literature has been working on his sophomore effort for 22 years. When a portion of the manuscript slips from his grasp and gets published, he begins to confuse reality and fiction, and sorting out his life will require him to acknowledge truths which may destroy him. 

SYNOPSIS:

Jack teaches about the novel at that university downtown. But Jack has a problem. His first novel, an autobiographical tale of a working class drinker who finds salvation through literature and the love of a good woman, was a critical darling. It's such a cult favorite that fans follow Jack everywhere he goes, and he has to keep his wife and child hidden from the craziest fans.

Jack's also been working on his sophomore effort for 22 years. And although Jack has tenure, his department chair has found a way to get rid of him--if Jack can't show progress by submitting some of his manuscript.

An excerpt from Jack's voluminous manuscript slip from his hands, and it gets published--and celebrated. The trouble is: Jack doesn't really know if it's his manuscript, his teaching assistant's, or his student's.

When Jack takes the credit, his past comes back to haunt him. Crazy fans accuse him of murder. Oversexed coed's invade his office hours. And a promotional tour separates him from his wife and child--putting them in danger.

As the stress rises, Jack's mental state deteriorates to the point where he comes to believe that he's living INSIDE his own novel. And he may actually be.

Only the destruction of everything he's created and the lies he's told and lived will deliver the writer from his own sins--even at the cost of his sanity.