The main character, a middle aged writer on a long trip to the North Sea, returns home only to receive a surprise invitation from his brother - a scientist and professor at a university, whom he hasn't seen for years. Accepting the invitation, the main character is confronted with news about the sudden disappearance of his brother. Furthermore, he also discovers that his brother has become an outcast, alienating himself completely from everyone and secretly working on a mysterious machine, which, according to his brother's calculations, could separate one's consciousness from his body.