Hundreds of jobless people are camping out at the City Center, hoping to be the first through the doors when the job fair opens. One of the jobseekers, Augie Odenkirk, was recently “downsized” from his company. In line, he meets Janice Cray and her infant daughter, Patti: Janice lost her job in the 2008 economic recession and can’t afford a sitter, so she and her baby will be spending the night in line in the parking lot. Augie keeps an eye on Janice and Patti, letting them use his sleeping bag as the night gets colder. They are there first thing in the morning when a gray Mercedes Benz plows into the crowd. Augie tries to shield Janice and Patti with his body, and all three die.

One year later, recently retired police detective K. William Hodges is watching daytime television with a can of beer and his father’s old .38 Victory Smith & Wesson M&P revolver—the one his father carried as a beat cop—on the table beside him.

Hodges is watching the kind of talk show that brings squabbling couples on stage, then brings in someone else, like the boyfriend’s other girlfriend, to provoke a dramatic fight on stage. As Hodges watches the show, he occasionally sticks the gun in his mouth just to see what it feels like.