What happens to Eric James, a brilliant professor of the humanities—and a hopeless romantic—when his beloved wife of thirty years dies? How can he reconcile his shattering loss with the philosophical and spiritual ideas that he has been comfortably teaching for decades? More importantly, will he ever be able to cherish life and be willing to risk loving again? Perhaps the answers to these questions await him in the fabulous city of Paris, where an ancient society struggles to save mankind from itself—and where a sensuous Dark Lily is waiting to reveal more about himself and his beliefs than he ever suspected. --In short, the book follows a highly literate man from grief to a new existence where wit and laughter are not uncommon, and where great friendship and a great love offer him the chance to live again.