An earthquake in Switzerland, nestled safely in the centre of a continental plate »as rigid as a five franc piece?« But the earthquake does indeed come, and its name is Recession. One of its victims is Gehrer, marketing director at the international company SolutionsUniverse, who is approaching his fortieth birthday. It's a long way to fall. And Gehrer has to pass through every stage of hell before he can come to terms with his new redundant status. But there is one thing that he just cannot bring himself to do – to admit his dismissal to his wife, Jeannette, who is currently relentlessly pursuing her career. This is slapstick at the highest of levels, the kind of comedy where the laughter gets stuck in your throat. Dobelli describes with intense realism and subtle powers of observation the various stages of this life reorientation process – a roller-coaster ride between resignation and furious optimism – which ultimately takes an unexpected and personal turn.