Richard Eason's father committed suicide when Richard was ten years old, and the memory of the event has haunted the young man ever since. His father was a rising star among southern architects when he killed himself, and Richard has followed in his father's footsteps as an architecture student at Georgia Tech. Still, the mystery of his father's death will not leave him alone, and the mystery soon becomes an obsession.

Meanwhile, with the help of his father's friend, Tanny, he labors with clever, almost maniacal passion to build a replica of the magnificent, airy cabin his father had designed, built, and perished in. So much of Richard's character has been shaped in some way by the night his father died. Now, Tanny might be a guiding light for young Richard as he searches for answers.

Along with Tanny, Richard has his girlfriend Lefay, an ex-hippie turned corporate executive who calls him Reason. Even with the help of friends, however, Richard has trouble keeping a grasp on reality. He digs deeper and deeper into his father's life, but he might soon find spending so much time in the past brings disaster upon the present.