At the age of four, you witness your mother's collapse as the washing machine overflows and sends clumps of soapsuds scudding past her across the kitchen floor. When your father goes to work, he leaves you next door at the Blue Belle Diner, under the watchful eye of Charlie, an ex-boxer turned short-order cook. The Diner becomes your day-care center as your mother waits for remission. Deprived of a mother's physical affection, you become increasingly aware that your father resents you. Spending more and more time on the streets of Worcester, you befriend such marginalized and colorful characters as Worcester's Last Gypsy, Last Ragman, and Last Sidewalk Preacher.