Miles Raymond thought things were going relatively well.

Miles, the now iconic alter ego of author Rex Pickett--who was first introduced in the critically acclaimed book Sideways and its award-winning movie adaptation--resurfaces on the South Island of New Zealand. All he has in life is a half hectare of Pinot Noir, a guest cottage where his days are numbered, a special needs cat named Max, and a winemaker partner pressing him for a more committed relationship.

These modest assets are balanced by the impending publication of Miles's new novel, A Year of Pure Feeling. His fledgling publicist has arranged for a book tour that will take Miles along the east coast of New Zealand, from Oamaru to Auckland, to a series of increasingly interesting Kiwi book clubs. In a six-ton camper van! In the winter!

Jack Manse, after a divorce and a financial disaster, has reinvented himself and gleefully volunteers to copilot, too delighted at the prospect of a road trip and a reunion with Miles to heed his friend's objections.

Alternately blackly comical and poignantly heartbreaking, what started as a book tour through New Zealand becomes a journey through Miles's soul.