This journey – as narrated by Daniel Suelo's friend Mark Sundeen - unravels in a tale that is by turns eccentric and unexpected, that challenges the reader continuously to question his or her own basic notions surrounding the value of money, and the materialistic society in which we live.

Equally fascinating are the descriptions of the day-to-day practicalities of a life without money, from practices such as dumpster-diving (finding edible food that's been thrown away), to foraging in abandoned vegetable gardens and orchards, community gardening efforts, and of course: the all-but-forgotten art of sharing and generosity.

A more significant portion of the book, however, is given to telling the story of how and why Daniel Shellabarger came to be 'Suelo' (his adopted name, meaning "soil" in Spanish), the moneyless man who lives in a cave just outside the American town of Moab, Utah.

It begins with his upbringing in an evangelical, fundamentalist Christian household, and follows his eventual escape from fundamentalism and discovery of the progressive intellectual movements in Portland, Oregon, where he attended University.

The religious element of the story - whilst a main theme of the book due to it's significant influence on Daniel's life – is not handled in a manner that would alienate or exclude readers of non-religious backgrounds, but rather used as a springboard for understanding the moral choices and influences that have lead him toward choosing his present way of life.

Perhaps one of the most striking things about this book is that in spite of all his eccentricities and unconventional behaviour, Daniel Suelo remains just a man. Despite living in a cave and eschewing something so basic to the consciousness of our modern society as money, he is neither the ascetic monk nor the rambling lunatic that one might be tempted to paint him as.

Instead, what we discover is a man as commonplace (and as different) as any other, struggling to live a free and moral life as best he can in a world that has come to value little outside the realm of what can be measured in dollars and cents.