His life was like his recurring nightmare: a train to nowhere. But an ordinary life has a way of taking an extraordinary turn. Add a girl whose ears are so exquisite that when uncovered they improve sex a thous&-fold a runaway friend a right-wing politico an ovine-obsessed professor & a manic-depressive in a sheep outfit implicate them in a hunt for a sheep that may or may not be running the world & the upshot is another singular masterpiece from Japan's finest novelist.