Hugh Billing has been drifting for years. After making his fortune in the music business, he followed a series of idle pursuits, leading him down erotic byt superficial paths across the US. His mother's death brings him home to London, to a host of memories and the realization of hot little he has ever accomplished.

An old woman, Gladys Lee, becomes the focal point for his self-examination. And from her, Billing draws the strenght to travel on a different journey, to the Ruins of his own life. A recurring fream becomes an obsession, and when the story of the dream is finally told, Billing’s transformation has begun...