Content Warning: The source text and study guide contain discussions of suicide, substance use disorders, and abuse.

The narrator introduces the central drama of the novel: “A bank robbery. A hostage drama” (1). Although the narrator claims that the novel is about many things, they’re adamant that the real story is about “idiots” and “one single really bad idea” (1). The narrator also introduces the bank robber and subsequent hostage taker as someone who left home with a gun and set off a chain of bad events.

The narrator says that a man was standing on a bridge 10 years ago “at the end of his life” (4).

The story shifts to present tense. New Year’s Eve is tomorrow in the small town where the hostage drama recently took place. A young police officer named Jack is interviewing one of the former hostages, the real estate agent who was showing the apartment where the hostages were held. He’s not getting anywhere with her because she won’t answer his questions directly.