In this sequel to In The Heart of Things, Robert Llewellen is back in Miami, his hometown, at ground zero, feeling his "inner self becoming cluttered with the illusion of enlightenment. . ." In Baltimore, Llewellen's life had been radically changed by the ideas of Jansen, a Zen practitioner who undertook to help him penetrate into the heart of things. He thought he understood Jansen's message, but in trying to practice it, he finds that he is unintentionally hurting the friends he is trying to help. Somehow, he must find out what it was in Jansen's message that he missed.