This book is about the tension between how singular the manifestation of love is and what we assume, often wrongly, about the idea of togetherness. To know the difference means to know the heart of the other. To know the heart of man is, in fact, the highest, sages and artists tell us. But who has this gift? Lovers do. Lovers share a passion that exceeds common understanding, and yet their acting on it can be fraught.

This book is a reading of the arabesque tales of Edgar Allan Poe, focusing on the main themes of love, identity, and reason.