A lot has been written about the creative legacy of two of the most prolific and ingenious authors of the 20th century: John Becker and Martin Smith, men with ordinary names bearing anything but ordinary minds. When one of them ends up dead by the other's hand in their hometown of Twilight Falls, California, Detective Richard Porter leads an investigation into their enigmatic history. Through stories of their childhood, adolescence, and careers we learn of the strange Old Man, as well as the unfortunate people who came face-to-face with the awesome power of their imagination.