The story begins almost like a fairy tale in the upper realm where the Collector called WHISPER, a frail, middle-aged, timid looking angel, is sitting at the East Bank. He is approached by FLEETING THOUGHT who has come to enlist his help in rescuing her little girl from a tragically unfulfilling life. We soon realize that this is not a child's fairy tale when we find out the little girl is a 37 year old named CARMEN; a single African American woman who appears to have a very successful life. The only problem is her life is void of passion, purpose, and personal power. Whisper listens to Fleeting Thought's plea but is convinced that another more powerful Collector would be better suited for the job. Fleeting Thought announces that she needs the whispering one, the one who won't draw the attention of the Slayers and by the time they notice, the other Collectors, Faith, Passion, Purpose, and Vision will be poised for battle.

Carmen is submerged in her work life with her normal persona called "attitude". Carmen has forgotten what makes her happy, she simply knows her present life "ain't it". PVS Corporation is a workplace that has come under the direct influence of Slayers. The company is going through accelerated deformation rather than transformation. It has restructured and reorganized itself in to a state of utter chaos. The moral and productivity is continuously being eroded by bureaucratic policy and shallow decision-making. As the impact of each bad decision becomes apparent, the management reacts by implementing deeper budget cuts which result in layoffs and additional workloads for the employees left behind.

The Slayers FEAR, PESSIMISM, DISTRACTION, and ANGER are present. Even though they operate unseen by the human eye, just as the Collectors, their impact on the human psyche is clearly evident. These four Slayers control the work environment at PVS. Fear is the dominant Slayer in this region. At first, Fear doesn't appear to be a menacing demon. This is the natural quality of all Slayers, but when in full form, his long flowing black hair, dark eyes, leathery skin, gripping claws, and unmerciful scowl will bring out the fear even in the other Slayers. Pessimism is a male demon, a gentleman type who provides logic and reason about why things will never get better, will probably get worse, so why bother. Distraction is a femme fatale demon. She is beautiful, seductive, and conniving. She offers every opportunity to forget, loose focus, and enter into a state of perpetual procrastination. Anger is the Slayer that lays low, simmering and then erupts into a raging fit. Pessimism and Distraction are hanging around Carmen's office stirring up sullen feelings of hopelessness. After awhile they get bored and return to their home in the lower realm. Whisper and Fleeting Thought watch the enemy at work and when the coast is clear they enter the time space continuum where humans dwell.

LINGLING, Carmen's Chinese American officemate and WERNER, their white co-worker, begin their first exploration of what makes them happy. This conversation takes place under the whispering guidance of Whisper and the intermittent impulses of Fleeting Thought. Dreams long forgotten find a way to emerge in a conversation that just would not have occurred on an ordinary day at PVS. At PVS there are four kinds of employees; the pissed-off, the resigned, the happy-anyway, and the pretenders. The latter is where BLAKE SMITH shows up in full effect. Blake has drifted up the corporate ladder by riding the coattail of associates. He does god-only-knows-what and draws a six figure income for doing it.

Each character has a different story constituted by something to be lost or something to be won. Their stories are woven together over a period that spans almost a year's time. The Slayers will do all in their power to slay the dream and the dreamer while the Collector's will do all in their power to help the characters reclaim their soul's