A series of violent assaults during a politically charged year brings Jay into play, albeit not as he would have planned or predicted. He's a detective by occupation, and his hobby is--you guessed it--keeping tabs on violent assaults occurring outside his jurisdiction. He is brought together with Andrew, a.k.a. 'Bomfi, ' an Australian freshly arrived on American shores by way of London, which makes him more of an unknown quantity than he would like but less of an enigma than appears at first glance. Both have to navigate around teenage appsters expecting hockey-stick growth for their start-ups within the year. Jay can't do his part alone and therefore calls on his old boss Fran, who has since retired but still cooking up a storm.

All is not what it seems. On a parallel-skew track, the Philosopher is in the process of relocating to New York, having defeated all his demons, including a true addiction to chocolate chip cookies. As for the narrator, his only addictions are Irish banjos and view-only horse races on Sunday nights.