Charlie falls for Gypsy, a house cleaner, slash-street-walker he believes he is in love with, but without a solid sense of self, Charlie's love is a futile endeavor. Still, he thinks he can save Gypsy from herself. He is also convinced they will marry and live happily ever aft¬er, in his misguided, emotionally bereft¬ perception of love. When drugs, and guns become a routine part of life, Charlie is in over his head. He walks a fine line between reason and despair. A poverty of spirit shines through in both wealth and poverty, in this gritty novel, where morals are not an underpinning of behavior, and the value of life is negligible.