Set in nineteenth-century Poland, this novel tells the story of Yasha - a sword swallower, fire eater, acrobat and master of escape - famous for Houdini-like tricks. A free thinker with an observant Jewish wife at home and a woman in every town, his exploits catch up with him and he is tempted to make one final escape - from his marriage, his homeland, and his father's religious heritage. But his plans unravel and he instead seeks to lock himself up in a place that even he won't be able to escape - and to spend the rest of his days doing penitence.