The first book in the trilogy — A Kind of Madness — is about Johan, who gives in to his romantic passions after he lost his revolutionary faith. The second book — In Search of a Normal Life — is about his return to reality and search for a woman to love and build a family with. The third book — Filling a Void — follows Johan on a three-months journey through a China where Mao’s revolutionary fervor and terror has been replaced by Deng Xiaoping’s pragmatic materialism. It’s during this journey his life takes an unexpected and radical turn.