"New York simmers with heat and unrest as Wyeth, a painter, findshimself at an impasse in his own work. After attending a dubious show put on by a collective of careerist artists, he retreats to a barin the West Village where he meets Keating, a former seminarian. Over the long summer, as the two get to know each another, they talk and argue about God, sex, and art. Meanwhile, at his job working for an art restorer, Wyeth begins to investigate the life and career of a forgotten, minor black artist. His search yields potential answersto questions that Wyeth is only now beginning to ask about what it means to be a black artist making black art amid the mess and beautyof life itself"--