Ranging from the wicked noir Shanghai of 1946, to the echo chambers of Hollywood, to remote, snow-covered mountains, Stuart Archer Cohen's This Is How it Really Sounds follows three men, each in search of a different life. Small-town Alaskan "Harry" Harrington is a legend in a small circle, once the world's greatest extreme skier, racing avalanches and knocking back flips off of cliffs. Peter Harrington is a world-famous financier, hated across the globe for making hundreds of millions of dollars on his hedge fund, and fleeing New York to begin a new venture in Shanghai. Finally, there is Pete Harrington, a middle-aged rock star, now touring third-tier venues and fleeing bankruptcy, but hoping that one great new song can rescue him. All are seeking something that has slipped away--youth, power, purpose, magic; all are wonderful creations, whose strangely familiar lives and dreams become unforgettable. Mingling wickedly-funny satire with heart-stopping adventure, This is How it Really Sounds explores the seductive power of the unlived life, and what happens when you finally grasp it.