Savannah
is a sprawling Southern mix of old and new, dark and light. Bill Rusakis
and Drew Quarterman have lived here all their lives, American kids who
could easily be seen as throwaways.
In their own minds they seek to overcome a sense of societal isolation through friendship and edgy attempts to understand the point to it all. They know they don't want to lead the life modeled by their parents and the society around them.
Drew lives with his father, Jeff Quarterman, in a rundown trailer home. His father is a retired security guard, ex-marine, divorced, Free Methodist minister. Drew has no interest in his father's views on life, thinks them tired and useless. Mr. Quarterman thinks his son is slipping out of control, and blames Drew's friends, especially Bill.
Bill's parents are more affluent, though this doesn't make Rusakis family life any more intimate. Bill's parents mostly ignore him other than to give him money. He has a room to himself in the guest wing off of the main house. He usually only enters the main house to eat.
The boys both express and mask their dislocation and dissatisfaction through such antics as tossing the spare tire of Bill's car from the top of the tall suspension bridge that arcs over the Savannah River. They also do normal teenager stuff like hanging out in old cemeteries, drinking, eating acid before a school day, and downloading Bridget the Midget porn from the Internet.
Drew's kick is friendship loyalty and he decides much of what he and Bill do. Bill's car is a sleek, green '64 Cadillac and Drew often drives it. Drew prefers to think he is almost always right and is the one who should be in charge. Even though this irks Bill, hanging out with Drew fills some gap in his life. Bill even pays for a lot of the things they do that cost money. Drew's smoky swagger and confidence inspires Bill; in a way it helps him step away from his own self-consciousness.
It's the spring of their senior year in high school.