After a doctor has a series of dreams about a river that will bring water to the Sahara, one almost magically appears. Believing that his dreams caused its creation, the doctor--along with a small group ranging from a young girl to a documentary filmmaker--sets out to find its source. In typically Ballardian fashion, these events allow the author to expound on his themes of media, loss, and disintegrating in society in ever new and disturbing ways.