The squirrelly little professor Stanley Kosiewski occupies an unstable place in the world located between two realities: an imagined one in which he socializes and converses with some of the most famous characters of world literature and the academic world of dysfunctional Winston University. The latter is defined by his relationship with four colleagues. Together with K, they comprise the Fellowship of the Fire, a literary clique of philosophically minded, antiquated intellectuals with antiquated opinions on everything from soup to nuts. When faced with the prospect of retirement from academia, the odd little professor, affectionately known as the gerbil by students and colleagues alike, begins to reflect on the purpose and meaning of his life and his career. Waiting to be discovered in the vague space between these realities is something of an answer to his perplexing questions about his relevance.