Harvard graduate Tim Sebastian has built up a successful architectural practice in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, an expanding city with cultural aspirations. Morgantown's mayor announces a competition, open to both local and international architects and invites them to bid for the design and construction of a new concert hall. Both he, and Tim's secretary, Lola, encourage him to enter. The action moves between the United States and Paris, as Tim and Lola research their project while both try to come to terms with their own longstanding and complex relationship. Intrigue, desire and love affairs abound as the plot develops, both professionally and personally, culminating in a dramatic courtroom trial. John Sarafian's novel involves a masterful interplay between architecture and music at the highest levels.