Falling Through Water

Falling Through Water is a “metaphysical romance” about love, life, death and redemption.

Two men are washed ashore at Macao, apparently the sole survivors of an airplane crash in the Baltic Sea. One is a linguist of obscure Swiss dialects, the other, the pilot of the aircraft. Although neither is wicked in a conventional sense, each is very selfish.

The wonderfully pleasant Macao, however, is not what it seems. At first they think they are the centre of an elaborate conspiracy. Finally, they decide that they are dead or dying and becoming trapped in an imperfect paradise. The constant bickering between the linguist and the pilot is bleakly comical.

Driven by duty and love, the pilot and the linguist attempt to escape their paradise, but disaster ensues. The pilot drowns off Macao but simultaneously is rescued in the Baltic. The linguist is saved in Macao, but dies of exposure in the Baltic. In the end, redeemed by their few good qualities and good deal of grace, both eventually find happiness in paradise.