An enigmatic tale with strong philosophical underpinnings, The Virtual Muser, is a provocative look into the human psyche.

For Graham, a teacher, who concocts the ultimate test when he creates a character in order to seduce his wife through emails, and Larry, a freelance writer, whose alter ego spends an inordinate amount of time in Internet chat to play on the emotions of women around the world, it all begins as a game they feel they can control behind their masks.

Jake, computer analyst and self-proclaimed moralist, believes the virtual world to be another false idol of man's making and sets out to destroy it. Cathy, barmaid by day and artist of erotica by night, reveals in her painting parts of the others which they would have wished to keep hidden. Anna, successful businesswomen and Graham's wife, discovers a newfound freedom in her relationship with the virtual character her husband has created, whom she believes to be real. Donna, a young teacher who has met Graham at a lecture, discusses literature, art and love with him in their virtual world by day, but becomes Vulcana – the ruthless mistress of men's souls in the virtual world – at night.

It is when the characters meet each other physically, that the journey they began virtually moves in directions that could not have been foreseen. Swept up in events that force them to confront the demons they have released - figuratively and literally - they have to face the consequences that are only too real, so that the journey culminates in ways that leaves none of the characters as they had started.

Delicately plotted, rich with thought and action, The Virtual Muser is a postmodern odyssey set in the era of the Internet and interspersed with subliminal motifs and literary allusions. Within the characters is a mix of hubris and frailty, of daring and weakness; in other words, today's people. They strike a cord and grab hold of readers' imaginations, bringing them to the edge of their seats and making them think long after the last page is turned.

The Virtual Muser is a unique look at our search for self in an age where man believes he has the power to become creator, not only reinventing his own identity, but also redefining the rules of existence.