Phaedrus - a character familiar to readers of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' - is
sailing down the Hudson River when he meets Lila Blewitt an unapologetically sexual
psychologically unstable woman whom a mutual friend warns him against. But Phaedrus is drawn to
her physically and interested in her intellectually finding her a culture of one in whom he
discerns an unexpected Quality. Sailing with him to Manhattan where her mental state
deteriorates further Lila promps Phaedrus to explore conflicts of values such as those
between Native Americans and Europeans or between the insane and the normal.
