His girlfriend dumped him, he writes about bars for a dying newspaper that's abandoned news reporting for lifestyle articles, and he's desperately searching for meaning amongst the backdrop of Sydney's shallow social and dating scene. Then he meets a young woman at a party who just might be the answer to his life's meaninglessness. However, she's only 19 - and one of his student's friends. This is a novel about a man who tries to curb his sleazier tendencies as he learns they're not only pathetic but also the cause of - and not the solution to - his problems.