Quite possibly the most influential classical scholar of the 20th century, Milman Parry (1902-35) overturned established traditions about Homer and other ancient epic poets, becoming known as the "Darwin of Homeric studies." In this literary detective story, the author of National Book Critics Circle Award finalist The Man Who Knew Infinity profiles Parry's revolutionary studies of oral literature and field recordings in Yugoslavia, and examines his mysterious death by gunshot in an L.A. hotel.