Julian Donahue is enchanted by his iPod. Every song that plays on the "greatest of all human inventions" triggers a memory: the girls he dated, the day he met his future wife, the birth of his son. But when his family falls apart, even music loses its charm.
Until one cold night in Brooklyn, when the soundtrack to his life—and his own—starts playing again. He stumbles upon a bar, walks in, and sees Cait O'Dwyer, a fiery-haired Irish rock singer, performing with her band. And a strange and unlikely love affair is ignited.
Over the next few months, Julian's passion and their shared love of music unfold, though they never meet. Through emails, text messages, cell phone videos, and lyrics posted on her website, they both discover something in this bizarre friendship they haven't seen anywhere else. Cait's star is on the rise. Julian gently guides her along her path to fame—always from a distance—and she responds to the only voice that understands her, more than a fan, less than a lover.
As their feelings grow more heated, maintaining a safe distance becomes impossible. What follows is a love story—and a dark comedy about obsession and loss—seen up close in a digital age that blurs the line between the desire for intimacy and the desire for oblivion.
“One of America’s finest writers” - The Washington Post
“Gripping... brilliant... triumphant” - Publishers Weekly
“Ingenious... [Philips] presents [his characters] with a dry generosity and a haunting poignancy that rivals his acidic and wonderfully subversive humor” – The New York Times on Prague
