Richard Schroubeck, a Berlin bookseller in his early thirties, has entered a devastating time in his life. His girlfriend, Hannah, has left him, and Richard does not know why. Introspective, egotistic, and terribly dependent, Richard is sure Hannah will return, if only because he cannot live without her. He withdraws to his apartment, pouring out his guilt and hopes into writing. For weeks he quits bathing and shaving, and takes a perverse delight in his heroic despair. Though he is certain that absolution will come when Hannah returns, he comes, in time, to realize that the constant writing has become his true devotion.