Summary

The novel begins with a prologue and takes place in February of 2018. The protagonist and narrator is a 17-year-old boy named Riggle Quick. He used to live in Texas, near the Mexico border, with his parents. His parents are now dead, so he lives in Indiana with his 29-year-old uncle Joe and Joe’s 23-year-old girlfriend, Peggy. (Joe is the brother of Riggle’s mother.) Riggle's father was a trucker. he died in a road accident when Riggle was six years old. Riggle's mother became depressed and killed herself about two years after Riggle's father died. Joe, Riggle, and Peggy live in an apartment. Riggle refers to the town only as Opioid, Indiana. Joe is addicted to opioids and methamphetamine, and he is sometimes physically abusive. Riggle dislikes winter in Indiana, and he misses Texas’ warm weather. He recalls an elderly neighbor he...