Glamorous movie star Sharon Fields is abducted by four men who profess to be her fan club. They are an unattractive quartet, contrasting pairs of sexually immature males. Adam Malone (who has the idea to kidnap Sharon) fantasizes about movie stars but is unable to consummate a relationship with a real woman. His opposite is Kyle Shively (a Vietnam veteran guilty of murdering civilians) who gets sexual thrills by degrading women.

Howard Yost (an insurance salesman bored by wife and job) craves the excitement of sexual novelty. His opposite is Leo Brunner (an accountant too timid to admit boredom with wife or job): Suffering from reduced libido, he must feign lust to match his companions'.

The Fan Club offers no male character whose sex life is under control or in balance. A Wallace novel typically features a male protagonist who moves from sexual dysfunction to sexual fulfillment, but...