For years, Valentin Sorger had been distant from everything that could be understood under the terms 'home' or 'family.' In his zest for life and awareness of his strength, he had given up ties and relationships; he had survived feelings for what he had left behind; he felt no longing anymore; he was no longer even able to fully contemplate the thought of his child. Now, in the realization of such distance and abandonment, the return home is being prepared. The journey is long. It leads from Alaska—where Sorger works as a geologist on the edge of an Indian settlement with his colleague Lauffer—first to the West Coast, then to the East Coast of the USA, where he plans to visit a friend from his homeland; and finally, it leads to the city of cities, where Sorger can formulate a law for his actions (and those of others) that will guide his return to Europe.