Marion Sylder

Marion Sylder is born in Red Branch, a small town outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1913. His early years are spent mainly in the town, with the occasional excursion elsewhere. When he is twenty-one years old, having just returned from one such excursion, he takes a job at a factory. It is a significant downgrade from his normal standard of living as a whiskey runner; he makes hardly a fraction of what he once did. He gets quickly bored with the job and winds up getting fired for getting into a fight. Unsure what he wants to do, he just starts driving without any idea of where he wants to go. After stopping at a bar, he returns to his car to find Kenneth Rattner waiting inside for him. He begs him for a ride back to Maryville, the county where Red Branch is located, and ignores Sylder's...