World-famous author Percival Mendelssohn and his wife Iris were the toast of literary society until her shocking suicide exposed the emptiness behind the couple's idyllic public image. Convinced that there was no love left in the modern world, Percival decided he would abandon it, disappearing from the face of the Earth and leaving stunned fans to forever wonder what happened to their favorite writer. Now, nearly a decade has passed, and one girl is determined to find her authorial guru and get some answers. Julia Jimenez has traveled halfway around the planet to Beijing, and she's convinced the strange man she's found hiding in a Chinese home is the one everybody's been looking for. In fact, the more he denies it, the more sure of her discovery Julia becomes. Insinuating her way into his life of isolation, she slowly tries to draw Percival back out amongst the living. Can she prove to him that his safe and precious life, tucked away with his books and an army of cats, can't protect him from the harsh realities he's trying to deny? Or has he become so broken by the failure of his romantic ideals, he can never be at peace again?