The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch takes place some time in the twenty-first century. Under the authority of the United Nations, humankind has colonized every habitable planet and moon in the solar system.

Like many of Dick's novels, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch utilizes an array of science fiction concepts and features several layers of reality and unreality. It is one of Dick's first works to explore religious themes.

Barney Mayerson, P.P. Layout's top precognitive in New York City, has been drafted to colonize Mars. Mayerson has just entered a sexual relationship with his assistant Roni Fugate, although he is still bitter about his divorce to his first wife Emily, a ceramic pot artist.

Emily's second husband tries to sell her pot designs to P.P. Layouts as possible Perky Pat accessories but Barney recognizes them as Emily's and rejects them out of bitterness.