Book excerpt: "In the small town of Progrody, Nissen Piczenik makes his living as a respected coral merchant. Despite his knowledge of coral, Nissen has never seen the sea. When a visiting sailor offers to take Nissen to Odessa, he eagerly accepts. But upon his return to Progrody, Nissen finds that a new coral merchant has moved into a neighboring town and is gaining popularity. As his customers dwindle, life takes an evil twist for Nissen Progrody. And the final decider of his fate may be the devil himself."--P. [4] of cover.