Pete Dexter

Miller Packard, a Los Angeles police detective in 1953, becomes romantically involved with Norah, the sole survivor of a violent boat-jacking in which she was raped and her husband killed, but it becomes apparent her recovery is far from complete when Miller takes African-American caddy Lionel "Train" Walk under his wing, and the three of them embark on a path to disaster.

Warren Spooner, born shortly before the death of his father, grows up with his mother amid a series of misfortunes, including an elbow injury that halts his pitching career, while remaining loosely connected to his ex-naval officer stepfather, Calmer Ottosson.