Danny Roarke's thirty-six year adventure through love and lust is reminiscent of Homer's Odyssey and Joyce's Ulysses. The novel begins when Danny is a college senior during the final year of the radical 1960s. He goes from college student, to professional soccer player haunted by the Vietnam War, to Cornell doctoral candidate enduring several turbulent relationships. Eventually, as a professor he develops a theory of genuine teaching at a small private university in Florida. He defends his most inspired graduate student's career when she is denied tenure, then both of their careers are sabotaged by two malcontent faculty members.

From rebellion in the "free love" Sixties, to reconciliation as his parents age and die, Danny's journey winds through his friends and extended family of brothers, their wives and children. Named for the Irish song "Danny Boy" and Daniel in the biblical lion's den, astrological implications develop as he encounters women from every zodiac sign. Danny Roarke travels America, Spain, Mexico and Ireland in search of authenticity and one great love.