Stephen Marx is a bestselling novelist who, after thirteen books, a Pulitzer Prize, and a National Book Award, should have little to prove to anyone. What plagues Marx is not knowing how posterity will rank him: is he merely an entertaining observer of the contemporary scene, or is he a writer for the ages? Marx must know and so, after faking his own death, he waits in hiding for the judgment of his critics, reviewers, and readers.

But death is not gratifying in the ways Marx had envisioned. In self-imposed anonymity he watches his life become, in the hands of others, a virtual novel with an increasingly out-of-control plot and a cast of unruly characters: his wife Miriam, author of an unusual cookbook; his critical nemesis, New York Times reviewer Noah Berg; and his biographer, Sabine Diehlsdorf.

All of them have agenda, good reason to dislike Marx, and unexpected access to potentially damaging personal papers that Marx remembers, too late, he should have destroyed. And through it all, Marx just can't stop writing. Under a pseudonym, he produces a bestseller....

1. In these and other captivating complications and twists, Carl Djerassi offers many insights into the makings of a literary reputation; the inevitable conflict between author and critic; the links between creative and sexual energy; issues of privacy, self-esteem, inspiration, and interpretation; and above all, the need for validation that is both the nourishment and poison of a creative mind.