Someone once suggested that Dylan Maxwell was devoid of malice. Somehow, he saw clearly what others could not. Dylan may have preferred to meld into the background and observe, but the young man stood out in the crowd. Early in his life, he concluded that some people should be more knowledgeable about matters of consequence; they should have paid more attention.

Then, during his first week in college, tragedy struck off the shores of Boston. Afterward, all that remained was Dylan's older, drug-addled brother, Joe, and their significant inheritance. Several years later, in Queens, NY, Dylan's real estate and development business flourished while Joe succumbed to addiction outside of Philadelphia, PA.

As Dylan secures a construction project near the shores of Lake Michigan, he becomes romantically involved with Lizzie Stallings, his new client from Grand Rapids. Meanwhile, his agreement to contribute articles for a college buddy's left-leaning publication backfires; his "freebie favor" results in praise and wrath. In "Plato the Dialectician," Dylan challenges religious dogma, and all hell breaks loose; a bomb explodes in Queens, an armed protest is staged in Michigan, and the Queens Democratic Party tries to persuade Dylan to run for political office.