South Jersey, circa 1983: A distinctive sub-region, as if a section of the south or midwest was grafted onto the east coast. Francis, a defrocked college student who has made a mess of both his scholastic career and his life, finds himself back home at the Jersey shore and gainfully employed at a sprawling, subterranean gas station. PETROLEUM TRANSFER ENGINEER is not just Francis's story, but is also the chronicle of a time and place that is slowly disappearing: The farmland, little eateries, and raucous bars giving way to development; the louche resort of Atlantic City morphing into its soulless casino incarnation. Via the pages of PETROLEUM TRANSFER ENGINEER, Francis must navigate a terrain that is simultaneously familiar and off-kilter. And--somehow--he must struggle to piece his life back together. ABOUT RICHARD KLIN Richard Klin lives in New York's Hudson Valley. He is the author of Something to Say: Thoughts on Art and Politics in America and Abstract Expressionism For Beginners. His work has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and has appeared in the Atlantic , the Brooklyn Rail , the Forward , Akashic Books' "Thursdaze" series, and others.