The language, the meaning of signs, is the theme of this unusual novel. Don DeLillo tells the story of the American James Axton, who works as an insurance agent in the Middle East. Axton feels challenged to solve a series of ritual murders linked to a mysterious group of people known as 'The Names'. Don DeLillo has received numerous awards, including the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Pen/Faulkner Award, the Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society, and the National Book Award.