Pete grows up in Northport, Long Island. His uncle Peter and his dad both tell him stories about knowing Jack Kerouac. A kid named Ricky Kasso tortures and kills another boy in the woods near Northport in the name of Satanism, and people start avoiding that area. Pete realizes at some point that his father's job in waste management is definitely a front for his participation in the Mothers and Fathers Italian Organization. Pete's parents, very religious and freaked out about the talk of Satanism, restrict what content Pete consumes, banning certain books and songs. Pete goes to Hofstra for college, and after graduation works a variety of odd jobs. He's a writer, and gets some poems and a story published in magazines. Pete confronts his father about his involvement in the mafia and his dad scoffs, saying that while it's technically illegal, he doesn't hurt anybody. Pete's mother dies of breast cancer, and after her death, Pete's father has a change of heart and rats out an incredible number of people from the secret organization. His brother (Pete's Uncle Peter) is furious about this, and comes to Pete's father's house to kill him. Pete stops his uncle at the front porch and hits him with a baton until his uncle passes out. Pete and his dad leave Long Island that night with a suitcase full of unmarked bills which his dad had hidden and head together for California. Uncle Peter is bandaged and banging on the car's trunk, where they've put him. Pete hopes that once they get farther into the drive, Uncle Peter will settle down and decide to come with them to the West.