Dewey Decimal, about whom neither we nor he knows too much, continues his journey through a devastated and sparsely populated Manhattan in the second volume of the trilogy. All he really wants is to organize his life (and the New York Public Library) according to his own personal system. However, he finds himself caught in the crossfire when he comes across material linking a powerful U.S. senator to the murder of a Korean prostitute. A dubious private army is after him, while in Korea Town, the Yakuza and Korean gangs are fighting for dominance, making New York City resemble a no-go area. Dewey Decimal gets closer to the big mysteries - what has happened that has caused all political, social, and moral coordinate systems to collapse? Is the Boogie Man from his past the key to his greatest adversary?.