THOMAS HATCH HATCHFIELD is an artist derailed by the Vietnam War. Beginning with crayons as a child, he honed his love for drawing as an art major in college and during a semester of study in Rome. Twenty-seven years after discharge, with a gut injury and a Purple Heart, Hatch still wanders Seattle’s Pioneer Square. With an air of snarky hostility, he drinks away his talent, having long ago traded his paint brushes and pens for Ripple and Thunderbird.

At least he has his invisible dog, BUD, always trotting beside him, always willing to listen, even willing to talk.

Hatch faces a DUI and attends court-ordered AA meetings. One night he stops at a nearby Seattle diner owned by ROSA, a Puerto Rican earth mother who hires him as a kitchen prep. Rosa inspires Hatch to renew his love of drawing.

As he claws his way to sobriety one brushstroke at a time, Hatch must come to terms with ghosts from the war, his fellow Marine, and the truth about his dog.