How to survive in Prague. The path of exemplary orphan Ivan begins at a children’s institution in the 1950s, leading him to a seminary, madhouse and philosophical faculty, before culminating at a Mexican Embassy in the 1990s. Along the way, he encounters secret agents, a foolish actress, mysterious handwritten texts, and even his own stomach. Will he find his father? Or the Father Almighty? Will he find himself? Detective story turned inside out, or picaresque tale?