Twenty minutes after his murder on the shores of Lake Michigan in 1896, seventeen-year-old Zebulon Finch awakens, resurrected to suffer an eternity upon the planet. But of all people...why him?

Is it because he was a violent Chicago gangster and this is his chance at redemption?

Is it because he is a modern-day Job whose suffering is beyond human comprehension?

Over the next century--or two--he will try to find out. With a sly aristocratic voice and a healthy appetite for women and anarchy, Zebulon Finch spins a tale of his travels across a young America, watching the country grow and mature, knowing that his mind and body will never do the same.

Yes, he is witty. He is also vain. Absolutely brilliant, too. And he is always entertaining. But have no doubt--Zebulon Finch has a heart as vulnerable as anyone's. Too bad he doesn't learn to use it till after it has stoped beating...