Henry James Ferguson becomes gravely depressed by the end of his relationship with his longtime partner, Trevor Schmitz, who leaves him because a new lover has the means to further Schmitz's career as a sculptor. After several months of residential care, Ferguson becomes delusional at the facility in which his attorney sister has placed him for psychiatric care. Ferguson thinks he is the male character in a book by the author on whom he is a nationally recognized scholar. As that man, he escapes to pursue the woman whose love he has lost. His pursuit leads to Las Vegas, where several situations and actions occur that are widely out of character for the staid, gay professor. From there he goes to the annual celebration of life called Burning Man, held in the Nevada desert. There, he expects to find the woman he seeks. The unusual circumstances at the weeklong celebration result in activities that restore his sanity and give new and positive direction to his life.