World-renowned concert violinist Zoltan Zany has been sitting in his living room armchair for an entire year, contemplating-with the help of his unconventional friends and Austrian housekeeper-the future direction of his life. Meanwhile, his etymologist son, Attila, along with an israeli linguist and archaeologist named isaac Mashugi, is traveling-in search of the first word uttered by Man-to eastern turkey's Mt.Ararat, where they believe this original Ur-word can be found by discovering Noah's ark. They are joined there by the elder Zany. They discover the word and, on a quest for further adventure, return to America to launch a new kind of travel business-Posthumous tours, specializing in dead customers and raising funds by selling reincarnation insurance. Wildly off-beat, whimsical, humorous, and philosophical, here is an adventure story to engross the mind, warm the heart, and quicken the imagination.