Once again, Vidal takes on the unmitigated folly born of the unholy partnership of religion, the media, and a public that longs for a savior.

The eponymous hero of Kalki, born and bred in America's Midwest, has established himself in Nepal and put out the word that he is the last incarnation of the god Vishnu.

An imminent apocalypse - ignited by Kalki's own actions - will end the current cycle of creation, clear the planet of overpopulation and pollution, and, most importantly, clear the way for a new human race with Kalki himself as a literal founding father.

Theodora Ottinger, an engineer, test pilot, and "breaker of records and men's self-esteem", chronicles Kalki's crusade with the witty self-assurance of a woman whose selection as one of the mothers of the new civilization is only icing on the top of an extraordinary life.