Abundance

The novel opens on the evening of Junior's eighth birthday. His father, Henry, washes up in a McDonald's bathroom after a day of physical labor. Henry and Junior are homeless, living out of Henry's F-250 pickup truck, and Henry mentally catalogs everything he cannot provide: balloons, cake, presents, friends, and Junior's absent mother, Michelle. Touched when Junior gravitates toward a cheap Happy Meal, Henry overrides the boy and orders a Supersized Big Mac meal, paying with coins and small bills. In the PlayPlace, Henry fights the urge to eat Junior's leftover fries, reminding himself of his history with addiction, and stews in self-conscious resentment watching affluent mothers nearby. Back at the truck, Junior complains his stomach hurts. Henry promises a surprise and drives toward a motel, buoyed by the prospect of a job interview the next morning.

The narrative flashes back to Henry's sixteenth birthday. He was being discharged from a psychiatric hospital following a drug overdose. He had felt alienated from patients whose trauma dwarfed his own grief over his mother's death. He also met Michelle, who secretly gave him her contact information. Papa, Henry's father, a Filipino immigrant who had come to the United States for graduate school, picked him up. Henry's mother had told him about Papa's past: He was a promising academic whose career ended after he struck a student, forcing him into manual labor as a contractor. In the truck, Papa handed Henry a $20 bill as bus fare until Henry found a job.

In the present, Henry and Junior arrive at a rundown motel. Paying cash, Henry is charged a $20 surcharge on top of the $40 room rate. Outside, he finds a slender man peering into the truck where Junior sits. Henry confronts the stranger, who claims he was checking on the boy and tries to sell Henry a dachshund. Henry gets Junior inside.

A flashback covers the year after Henry's hospitalization. His friend Al, a charismatic local drug dealer, arranged a job for Henry stocking supermarket shelves. When Henry received his first paycheck, Papa invoked a Filipino family tradition and demanded the entire sum, returning only a few dollars. The next morning, Papa surprised Henry with a used F-250 truck. In the glove compartment, Henry found $200 and a note reading "Proud of you," marking a turning point in their relationship.

The narrative jumps to the summer after Henry's high school graduation. He and Al earned $600 clearing invasive plants from a wealthy homeowner's property. Henry then picked Michelle up for their first date. She directed him to a strip club where her older sister worked. Over beers, Michelle revealed her past: Her mother died in childbirth, and her father, a gymnastics coach, was paralyzed in an accident, leaving Michelle and her sister impoverished. After more drinking and cocaine, they went to a drive-in movie and had sex for the first time before a security guard forced them to leave.

In the present, Henry prepares for his interview in the motel room, giving Junior a "lucky penny" and practicing answers in the bath. He recalls how his parole officer placed him at a gold-plating plant, where he befriended Lucius, an older ex-convict and mentor. His practice ends when Junior vomits on the carpet. Later that night, people flee the room next door, slashing tires on other cars. The dog seller emerges, high and aggressive, demanding Henry's truck keys. When the man reaches toward his waistband, Henry strikes him with a clothing iron. A pistol falls from the man's pants. Henry calls 911 anonymously and flees with Junior.

A flashback jumps several years ahead. Henry was living with a pregnant Michelle in a trailer park. He received an $8,722 life insurance check after Papa's death, a fraction of the enormous medical debts his parents left behind, for which Henry was legally responsible. Al pitched a scheme: Use the money to buy bulk fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, and a pill press to manufacture counterfeit oxycodone. Henry initially refused, but Michelle's silent encouragement and their desperate finances swayed him. They sold the pills for $100,000 and split the profit. After a celebratory dinner, Al made a clumsy sexual advance toward Henry, who, drunk and high, felt a godlike sense of power.

The present narrative resumes with Henry and Junior parked at a riverside park. Henry screams into the empty morning air. A flashback reveals the aftermath: Henry and Al were pulled over for a broken taillight, and police found drugs and pill-making equipment. Henry was offered a plea deal to testify against Al for a significantly reduced sentence. Pressured by Michelle and thinking of his son, he agreed. Al received decades in federal prison; Henry received five years. During a prison visit on Junior's first birthday, Michelle told Henry she could not manage alone.

In the present, Henry drops a feverish Junior at school. The boy begs to stay, but Henry yells at him and forces him out. Junior retorts that his mother would never treat him this way. At a Home Depot, Henry meets Jorge, a one-eyed day laborer, and a contractor hires them to demolish a driveway. Henry misses his chance to dispose of the incriminating iron in the contractor's dump truck. He leaves early, asking Jorge to collect his pay, and buys a can of Chef Boyardee for Junior's dinner.

A flashback covers Henry's release from prison. Michelle did not show up. He took buses back to their trailer, where the park manager, Sandi, demanded back rent. Inside, he found Michelle addicted to pills and Junior, now six, barely recognizing his father. In the present, Henry arrives at Horizon Lines, a call center that employs ex-convicts. The interview goes exceptionally well, and he leaves confident he will get the job.

Another flashback covers November, a month before they became homeless. Henry received his final paycheck from the gold-plating plant, which was shutting down, and discovered Michelle had emptied their bank account. He recalled the day of the layoff, when Lucius snapped and was arrested after a violent outburst. That night, Henry and Michelle's argument escalated until Henry hit her and threw her out of the trailer. Junior witnessed everything.

Elated after his interview, Henry cons a gas station clerk into letting him pump gas on credit. He smokes marijuana with her and arrives late to pick up Junior. He finds the boy extremely ill. The school cannot administer medication due to liability policies. Delirious with fever, Junior accuses Henry of killing his mother. Henry discovers text messages from Michelle: She is in a halfway house in California after an overdose and wants to come home. With only 38 cents, Henry enters the Walmart across the street and shoplifts a package of Advil. As he nears the exit, security guards catch him.

A final flashback returns to New Year's Eve, the day of their eviction. Henry had sold nearly all their possessions. When Sandi and the movers arrived, Henry walked out holding Junior's hand. In the truck, heading west into the fading light, Henry held Junior's ankle as the boy knelt on the seat, looking back at the home they were leaving behind. Night fell, and Henry felt a brief, fragile completeness, resolving to keep moving forward for his son.