There's just one snag: as Paul is unpacking his
belongings, he discovers that something has been left behind. A
seemingly inconsequential object, but one Paul feels is of great
importance to his dissertation and, therefore, to his future: a
battered, personally annotated hardcover copy of
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. He will have
to retrieve it from his former roommate - the obstinate, casually
sinister Nancy.
Paul contacts Nancy, but she will not cooperate. She
blithely thwarts Paul's clumsy and increasingly frantic efforts to
retrieve his book. What should be the simplest of errands becomes
intolerably difficult. Paul's jocular, enabling buddy, Charlie,
eggs him on, reinforcing his inflated sense of
persecution.
Caught between an impatient girlfriend and an equally
impatient thesis advisor, Paul starts to lose his grip. His
annoyance turns to rage and then to obsession. As he becomes
increasingly consumed with the retrieval of Little
Dorrit - and with his romantic image of himself as the
victim of a wanton injustice - Paul's relationship and career begin
to unravel.
His life will get much, much worse before it gets
better.