Wyatt Gwyon's desire to forge is not driven by larceny but from love. Exactingly faithful to the spirit and letter fo the Flemish masters, he produces uncannily accurate "originals"--pictures the painters themeselves might have envied. In an age of counterfeit emotion and taste, the real and fake have become indestinguishable; yet Gwyon's forgeries reflect a truth that others cannot touch--cannot even recognize. Contemporary life collapses the distinction between the "real" and the "virtual" world, and Gaddis' novel pre-empts our common obsessions by almost half a century. This novel tackles the blurring of perceptual boundaries.