Blumenthal creates a moving portrait of the human struggle for psychological growth, as well as a witty satire of life at the top of the academic world. The work won the 1994 Harold U. Ribalow Prize for Best Work of Jewish Fiction.

Shortly after his mother dies of breast cancer, Michael Blumenthal discovers that she was not his biological mother. As fate would have it, his adoptive father, a German-Jewish refugee raised by a loveless and embittered stepmother, has inflicted on his stepson a fate uncannily similar to his own. With these revelations, the "mysteries" that seem to have permeated Michael's childhood are laid bare, triggering a quest for belonging that will infiltrate the author's entire adult life.

In these brief essays, Blumenthal provides unconventional insights into our contemporary political, educational, and social systems, challenging us to look beyond the headlines to the psychological and sociological realities that underlie our conventional thinking.