This book interweaves several threads, focussed on what seem to be Wagner's experiences in Italy during the WWII Italian Campaign and in the years following the end of the war in Europe, when he travelled in Italy, probably revisiting the regions in which those memories were rooted. One thread concentrates on medical therapies, seemingly directed towards coming to terms with the leading character's understanding of that period, perhaps reflecting Wagner's own memories. These memories are of two types: events (possibly autobiographical) that are dealt with in considerable detail in the later novel “The Killing Time” (1981); and Axel's search for the several old flames he encountered or imagined in the period of his early travels. Another thread meanders through a bizarre series of psychiatric clinics which are supposedly aiming to assist Axel in his quest for resolution. As always with Wagner his narrative he exercises the intellect with clever prose and thought-provoking references, although it must be said that the storyline is frequently difficult to follow. ( )