For six months, her beloved has been in a coma. Now, Valerie is discussing a tape recorder at his hospital bed, which is meant to bring him back to life. Now that everything is at stake, everything in her language is love. How can one feel and not lose oneself? How can one confront the lack that drives all love? How can one keep what cannot be held? Torn between Vienna, where she loves, and Tokyo, where she works, Valerie conjures up her own love story once more and meticulously traces the evolution of her feelings - to the point where they almost seem to be overcome. A magical monologue, a summoning of life: In his literary debut, Roger Willemsen approaches the phenomenon of love with as much passion as insight, as intimate as precise. He tells not just a story at the intersection of life and death.