Julius Herzfeld, a sixty-five-year-old physician and psychiatrist, is diagnosed with a lethal melanoma and is given a life expectancy of a year at the most. Julius decides to continue his work as a therapist but he is seized by the urge to contact one of his former patients, Philip Slate. Julius was not successful in his treatment of Philip's schizoid, sexually compulsive and very distant character and he is very surprised to learn that he is now a therapist himself, a "philosophical counsellor". During their first meeting after many years, Philip tells Julius that he managed to cure himself in a course of bibliotherapy and that his therapist was the German philosopher Arthur Shopenhauer!
Since Philip needs two hundred hours of professional supervision to obtain a state counselling license, he proposes a swap to Julius. They are to meet weekly and half the time Julius will provide expert advice about Philip's patients and half the time Philip will be Julius's guide to Shopenhauer.
A very carefully researched and richly imagined novel with a cross-discussion of both philosophy and psychotherapy.