Satin Island follows U., a “corporate anthropologist” working for a powerful consultancy in London that advises governments and big companies. Although involved in major projects, he spends most of his time procrastinating and drifting through fragments of modern life—news images, global events, and cultural oddities.
Obsessed with finding a hidden pattern or “code” that connects everything in the chaotic flow of contemporary society, U. tries to make sense of the world’s overwhelming information. He reflects on topics like disasters, rituals, and strange global phenomena, wondering if they reveal a deeper meaning.