Shadow has just been released from prison, on bail, two days before he was due, because his wife's just died in a car accident with his best friend - the two people who were going to get his life back together.
On returning from the funeral, and lost, not knowing what to do, Shadow encounters the mysterious Mr Wednesday, an old confidence man claiming to be the king of the Gods, who wants Shadow to be his bodyguard. Eventually Shadow accepts, and they travel America, meeting with Wednesday's old acquaintances, all of them weirder than the last. Wednesday tells Shadow that all of them are gods, and that there's a war coming. The old gods versus the new gods.

As their travels take them further into the heart of America - a continent that by default has no gods, only those brought in from migrants - the two find themselves much deeper than they thought, and the battle is only just beginning.

Neil Gaiman's book about the human condition, and what beliefs we model based on our surroundings, flows prefectly and throughout its very weird and bizarre plot, and its flashbacks to other events and characters it weaves this very fine story which leads to a rather good ending. All the way throughout, Neil leaves you wondering about the previous events - not everything is what you read. It's beautifully written and although sometimes drags on a bit, but you'll be too engrossed on the story to really care.

It mixes in fantasy, with a bit of horror and comedy with some pretty intense scenes and drama. In fact, it's a bit of a complex one when it comes to putting a genre on.