This is the story of Gerard, a man who miraculously survived an explosion that destroyed his apartment and killed a lot of people. During the next few days he tries to find out why he survived and others died.

A former journalist, three times divorced, Gerard is now a member of Alcoholics Anonymous who lives in a small apartment on Darling Street. By a combination of circumstances, he isn't home when his building explodes one evening, causing the death of six people. Moved by the fact that he has escaped death, Gerard finds his old journalistic instincts returning and decides to research his dead neighbors' past to understand what occured, but also to give meaning to this terrible event.—Anonymous