 The climax of the novel follows the events in the film in detail, highlighting the sense of determinism and post-modern self-awareness.There is a passage which draws on the traditional legend of the all-powerful martial arts master defeating better armed and more numerous opponents, in which writing the characters for various fighting forms defeats the opponents using the forms themselves.A postcard with a still from the film Casablanca is received by Dr Randle from an (apparently) deceased Eric Sanderson.