Selzer is a highly metaphysical writer, keenly tuned to themes of sacrilege and trespass in the practice of surgery. In this loosely organized but provocative piece he seems to be wrestling with his two angels, surgery and writing, for whatever they can yield of the human soul. The several stories he tells are connected by their humbling of the practitioner, whether the agent is a suffering patient's good humor, a consult that deflates a professional dream of glory, or a dedication to serve the needs of others.