Osric Martext is a writer of some little renown (emphasis on "little") who has had some modest success with his political thrillers, as well as with his travel and restaurant guides, which he has been publishing for many years. He lives a fairly cloistered life on Miami's South Beach, but ventures forth when the situation requires him to. Besides other successes and failures this year, and a couple of deaths close to home, a Broadway play he conceived has made remarkable progress and is on the cusp of its world premiere as this untidy year comes to a close.