Fred Hundt, an expert in probability theory, is in the middle of explaining the relativity of time and space to fifth graders with the help of fried eggs when his old friend Ben Harper calls. Apparently Ben, who shouldn’t really have anything to complain about as a doctor for celebrities in California, finds himself in the midst of a major crisis. In any event, he wants Fred to get on a plane to LA, pronto. Which isn’t an unwelcome prospect for Fred, who could actually use the distraction, since he’s in a miserable mood: His favorite musician, Keith Richards, has just died. A dramatic development: For Fred, the demise of his biggest rock ‘n’ roll idol means that the great extinction is now underway – from now on, basically anyone could be next, including him.
Yet the trip to visit Ben will prove to be a stroke of good fortune. For not only will Fred’s expert knowledge be challenged by unusual physical phenomena, but things will actually go so far that he’ll find himself on a desert island with no less than Keith Richards himself, facing practical problems he never dared dream of.
