Bøger af Nick Hammer

Simon is an only child that is mentally challenge living on the southeast coast of Florida. When his father Eddie rashly joins the military and goes off to war in Iraq he leaves Simon and his mother, Louise, a cashier at a grocery store, in dire financial difficulties. Simon gets bullied at school and eventually drops out before graduation. Through stress and worry Louise increases her drinking. When Eddie comes home from Iraq he is suffering from PTSD. Because of his erratic behavior, Eddie fears for the safety of his family he leaves them and goes AWOL. Simon has been contributing to the household by working in a small engine repair shop and mowing lawns. When a new neighbor moves in across the street, Simon begins to mow his lawn. The neighbor, Harold is manipulative and mean to Simon. It gets to the point where Harold is so cruel that Simon wants to kill him. On another day Harold plays a life threatening practical joke on Simon, and laughs about it not realizing that he has at last pushed Simon too far.

Writing from prison, Tally Edmunds tells how, in the middle of her college freshman year, her mother dies from an aggressive form of cancer. Tally is grief-stricken and feels tremendous guilt for not having stayed home to take care of her mother, and she begins to drink. The day after her final exams Tally is abducted and raped. She doesn't report the crime to anyone, but leaves school to seek refuge in her mother's empty house where she drunkenly passes the days watching old movies on television. When Tally finds that she has become pregnant from her assault, her depression deepens as she agonizes over whether or not to keep the child. Her excessive drinking then leads to an unexpected and tragic event.

Nicholas is imprisoned in a mental institution, but escapes and returns to a Greek island. However his mental illness eventually claims him, ending tragically for him and others.