Richard Schroubeck, a Berlin bookseller in his early thirties, has entered a devastating time in his life. His girlfriend, Hannah, has left him, and Richard does not know why. Introspective, egoistic, and terribly dependent, Richard is sure Hannah will return, if only because he cannot live without her. He quits his job and withdraws to his apartment and a hermit-like existence, pouring out his guilt and hopes in notes, reflections, and observations he intended Hannah to have, an attempt to close the gap created by her absence. The writing becomes all-consuming. For weeks Richard lies unshaven and unwashed, taking a perverse delight in his heroic, almost festive despair. He relishes his misery, certain that absolution will come with Hannah's imminent return, but also realizing that the daily, constant writing--"best suited to relieving him of just enough of the burden, without causing him to give up or lose anything"--Has becomes his true devotion--Publisher's description.