Katz Against Pavlov: A Novel About Walking

Charlotte Denise Lester is groomed from birth to inherit the company although she yearns to be a writer. Her father promises to finance her writing career once she marries Charles since he is confident that Charles can run the business on his own. Even though they are not suited for each other, Charlotte is cool and calculating in using Charles to gain her ultimate freedom.

Oliver "Old Man" Lester, Charlotte's father, and company owner, is a well-respected Master of Wall Street. Having married later in life and after the passing of his beloved wife, Jane, he is wholly ensconced in grooming Charlotte and Charles to take over the company as a team. He introduces Charles to a new client, Prince Samir al Mushadi of Dubai, an uber-wealthy Westernized Arab who has broken away from his traditional lifestyle to become an investor in real estate and retail.

Prince Samir has purposefully broken away from his cultural traditions and struggles to engage in life apart from the dictum of his wealthy birthright and Muslim upbringing. He also seeks a woman he can fall in love with and who can help guide his business. After meeting Charlotte, Samir realizes, as she does, that they are meant to be together.

Charles has an epiphany; realizing that he does not want to be part of the elite 1% even after all of his hard work. Abandoning his first meeting with the Prince, he leaves his office by sneaking out of the fire escape exit during a snowstorm. He meets a homeless man named E. Willoughby Jones who has been living on New York's mean streets for five years, after having walked to New York from Georgia.

Willoughby suffers from PTSD after the death of his older brother Grayson, an air-force pilot shot down in battle during the war in Vietnam. An affable Buddha, Will introduces Charles to life on the street by taking him for lunch at a soup kitchen run by Johnny, a former mafioso. Johnny's Kitchen is populated with a unique cast of characters, each of whom has a story to tell about why they are part of the homeless community of Manhattan.

Kristal Ann Morgan, Charles' assistant is sent out to find him after he deserts the meeting. She is the one person who understands Charles' personality and needs for solace amidst the intensity of Wall Street. She is in love with him yet guards her feelings, maintaining a professional relationship with him at all costs.

The characters come to personal realizations during a snowstorm that makes the city inoperable for a few days. Will realizes that he must go back home to heal from the loss of his brother, inviting Charles to walk to Georgia with him.