On a public piano in the historical district of Montreal, a bewildered tramp gives a virtuoso performance of a Rachmaninoff concerto. This man, who knows neither his own name nor where he comes from, can transform a simple stew into a divine meal and carry out impossible calculations; he also babbles disconnected words in almost every world language. Moreover, the anonymous prodigy appears to be creating dazzling calligraphic graffiti in disreputable corners of the city. Who is this unknown man with the face of a castaway, known as ‘Phoenix’ to many of the city's inhabitants? What connects him with a virtuoso Chinese pianist, a masterful Spanish confectioner, a highly gifted English mathematician and many other geniuses around the world? A dedicated, idealistic social worker and a tenacious neuropsychologist with a blind faith in science set out to discover the story of the man with the mystical name. This exciting odyssey, narrated in a richly pictorial and eloquent style, takes us around the world from Montreal to Babylon. Wherever we go, we experience the mysteries of genius and the healing powers of art.