Summary

The novel is told by an omniscient narrator. In the prologue of the novel, the residents of Midnight, Texas, with the exception of Lem (who cannot come outside during the day) and Olivia (who is out of town) go outside to watch as trucks roar into town and work crews start renovating an old, abandoned hotel called the Rio Roca Fria Hotel. No one knows anything about what is going on and Manfred, Bobo, and Fiji, who are standing together, wonder why anyone would want to reopen the hotel and how the unknown people will be able to pay for the renovations. They also wonder how it will impact Madonna’s restaurant, Home Cooking, as the hotel has a dining room. While they are talking, another resident, Joe Strong, is talking to the woman who is in charge of the renovations, Eva...