 A dying Roger confesses his love for Isolda and the fact that she died peacefully from a drug he administered rather than from the plague.After the death of his doppelgänger Roger and the Isolda they both loved, Dick has little incentive to return to the other world, but in any case there is no drug left to allow his passage there.As the book closes, Dick attempts to pick up the phone but suddenly finds he is unable to grip it.