A whirlwind tour through the decades from the 70s to present day, John Tanner walks all the way down to the end of the road to ruin in his quest for truth, only to try to find his way back. Over the course of his life, he'd been a hero, and he had failed those he loved. He'd been a warrior, and a coward. He'd been a poet, and he had lost the words. He had told the truth, and he'd lied. He'd won, and God knows he'd lost. Who was he this time? "Flip a coin," he thought apprehensively, thinking of the unimaginable task of never drinking again, knowing it would kill him if he did, knowing only a part of him cared at all. The sun set and he was alone again. He sat there watching the shadows crawling up the wall until nightfall, listening to the unintelligible whispering, unable to sleep. "They aren't real," he reassured himself. "It's the withdrawals."