Summary

Chapter 1 opens in New Orleans, in the apartment of Victor Tuchman, a man in his seventies. He is described as angry and generally repugnant. He paces the living room and thinks about how much he hates his wife, Barbra, who is sitting in the room. Victor goes to his bedroom and suddenly has a heart attack. Emergency services soon arrive and carry away the now comatose Victor. Corey, one of the emergency responders, feels somewhat disgusted when he notices that Barbra seems unperturbed by her husband’s heart attack.

Chapter 2 shifts focus to Alex, the divorced adult daughter of Victor and Barbra. Alex lives in Chicago. Barbra calls Alex on the phone to inform Alex of Victor’s potentially fatal heart attack. Alex decides to go to New Orleans immediately.

Chapter 3 shifts focus to Gary, the adult son of Victor and Barbra. Gary is...