Fortysomething Cédric is questioning his life choices. Surrounded by uncertainty and despair in the face of mass consumerism and climate change, he discusses his plight with the spirit of Henry David Thoreau, writer and proto-environmentalist, finding striking parallels between 19th-century commercialism and today’s capitalist alienation. Inspired, Cédric begins dreaming of his own retreat from urban life. Blending humor, philosophy, and fiction, Taling explores ways we might learn to live with our anxieties.