For all the current preoccupation about "pedophiles, " it is curious how little interest there seems to be with regard to what one is actually like. The author's intimate knowledge of one such individual should prove a useful window for the professional or the questioning layman who needs to look beyond stereotypical pejoratives. Though the work is fiction, it draws its inspiration from the experiences of a real person. Each of the 13 stories that comprise the book is complete in itself, but the stories share a common protagonist that can be seen as a series of snapshots taken at various points in his life. The central character is a psychotherapist by training. The stories are quite different stylistically, and focus on different aspects of his experience.