The book begins with a bank robbery. Ed Kennedy, the protagonist, and Marv, his very stingy friend, are in the bank at the time. Neither of them take the gunman seriously, Ed just wishes he would hurry up, and Marv just wants to get out of the bank so that he can move his car and avoid a parking ticket. The gunman, realizing that his original getaway car is missing, demands Marv’s keys. Running to Marv’s car, he drops his gun, and due to the general poor quality of Marv’s car, cannot manage to start it. Ed, for some reason that not even he understands, runs out, grabs the gun, and pins the gunman in the car until the police arrive. He also takes a couple shots at the car, and breaks a window. Afterwards, the police question Marv and Ed. Marv claims that he cannot buy a new car because he has other priorities, and refuses Ed’s offer to replace his window. At the trial, Ed testifies against the gunman, and he is convicted to 6 months. Before Ed is able to leave though, the gunman tells him that “every time [Ed looks] in the mirror, [he should] remember [he is] looking at a dead man.” Ed plays cards. He drives cabs. He has no real respect for himself. He wishes he could be something greater, feels that he has any now way to accomplish this. He lives with his dog in a house that is owned by his boss (founder and director of Vacant Taxis). He comes from one of the less developed sections of town, with practically worthless parents. After graduating from high school, he went straight into the work force, having not applied himself enough to get into university. His mother still lives in the house where Ed grew up, and has developed a strong swearing habit and a bit of a tempter. Ed’s father died about six months ago and passed on his dog, the Doorman, to him. The Dog smells like death. Ed is a normal looking guy, but he is totally in love with his good friend, Audrey. Audrey, a fellow cab driver, plays cards with Ed, Marv, and their other friend, Ritchie, a couple times a week. It is at this point that Ed first receives his first playing card, the Ace of Diamonds. The card has three addresses written on it: 45 Edgar Street, midnight; 13 Harrison Avenue, 6pm; 6 Macedoni Street, 5:30am. For some reason, Ed decides to go to the three addresses to see what is happening. He is convinced, even before visiting the locations, that he has to do something about whatever is going on there. The first, 45 Edgar Street, is a rundown house in a rundown neighborhood. Every night, a man walks home, drunk, and rapes his wife. Every night, their daughter comes out of the house, sits on the front porch, and cries. An old woman lives alone in the second. When Ed goes up and knocks on the door, she identifies him as “Jimmy” who has finally come back. Ed finds out that “Jimmy” is Milla Johnson’s husband, who died in World War II. Ed brings her a cake, and reads to her out of Wuthering Heights, and she is happy. Chapters 8-K The third house, 6 Macedoni Street, is in one of the nicer areas of town, in the “Hills.” Every day at 5:30, rain or shine, a girl comes out of the house barefoot and goes runs for several miles. A couple weeks after Ed first sees her, he goes to one of her track meets and sees her run there. When he sees her there, he knows that when she runs with shoes on, she neither performs nor feels as well as she does barefoot. So, Ed gets a shoebox, takes it to Sophie’s house, and gives it to her father, claiming that he had a package for her. Her father takes it, confused, because the box is empty. Sophie understands, and runs barefoot in her next meet. She still loses, but she looks and feels better about the race. Now Ed has to deal with Edgar Street, which he has been avoiding. Ed has an encounter at the house with the daughter, who asks if Ed is going to save them. He says that he is. Later that night, when Ed is in bed, he receives a phone call telling him to check his mailbox. In it is a gun. The next day, Ed borrows a cab from work, pulls out of a game of cards with Marv, Ritchie, and Audrey, and heads over to Edgar Street with a gun and doped vodka. He fines the rapist coming out of a pub, and offers him a free ride home. In the cab, he offers the drunkard vodka, which he greedily absorbs. After a couple minutes, he is out and Ed is driving out of town. They arrive at their destination, a place about an hour outside of town called the Cathedral. Ed beats him into consciousness and walks him over to the edge of a ravine. The man falls asleep, and Ed waits for a few hours, from 1:30a until dawn. At dawn, Ed wakes him up and calls him out for what he has done. The man promises to stop, but that is not good enough for Ed. The man is completely scared out of his mind. Ed carefully takes aim and fires. Part Two: The Stones of Home Chapters A-6 Ed shot at the sun. Ed agrees to play in the “Annual Sledge Game,” a big game of barefoot soccer played every year. Ed, Marv, and Ritchie have a