Kilgore Trout is a widely published, but ignored and virtually invisible writer who is invited to deliver a keynote address at a local arts festival in distant Midland City. Dwayne Hoover is a wealthy businessman who owns much in Midland City, but is becoming increasingly mentally unstable. The novel is achronological and frequently shifts focus between Hoover and Trout, as well as supporting characters like Wayne Hoobler, a man who wants to work under Hoover, and Kurt Vonnegut himself, who appears as the author of the book, having power over the world and his characters' actions.
