David Stofsky, a poet, is a fictional version of a young Allen Ginsberg, who later became one of America's most famous poets. Stofsky is needy, warm-hearted, and sincere. At first, he seems to be rather lost, as are the other characters in the book. Later, he has a strange experience, during which he becomes convinced that he has been visited by the spirit of the long-dead, mystical poet, William Blake. After this event, Stofsky's attitude toward his friends changes. In place of his former, unfocused hopes for them to be happy and to love one another, he adopts a probing, questioning approach. He confronts their inconsistencies and their unkindnesses, and tries through force of argument to make them recognize that they must change their ways if they are ever to attain the understanding of life and its sacred nature that they supposedly are pursuing.