Pierce Moffet, the protagonist in Crowley's Love & Sleep, is in the process of trying to find out who he is.

This quest for identity and fulfillment has led him to leave New York City for rural Blackbury Jambs. In the course of the novel, Crowley includes sections in which Pierce reflects on his past and how a number of key events have influenced his present character. Indeed, the interplay between Pierce's past and present parallels the larger theme of time in the novel. Pierce's search for purpose is a universal one, and his meditations on his personal development give the novel a central character with whom the reader can empathize.