During a visit to the bank, the protagonist Ed Kennedy, a nineteen-year-old Australian taxi driver, accidentally foils a robbery. After speaking to the police, he is interviewed by local media and proclaimed a hero, though the robber leaves him a warning that he sees "a dead man" when he looks at Ed before being taken away by police. Ed complains about his life, lamenting his strained relationship with his mother, Bev Kennedy, as his father died recently and left Ed with only his dog, the Doorman. He lives alone in an apartment, playing cards every week with his friends: Ritchie, who is unemployed and generally apathetic about life; Marv, a stingy carpenter; and Audrey, a fellow taxi driver whom Ed is in love with, although she does not return the feeling.