The novel opens with a description of a thirty-year-old man who has just returned from a visit with a "bad guy." The man tells the narrator that he has been feeling "creepy to think about" and that he is being watched by someone. The narrator asks the man if he is smoking, and the man replies that it is not so easy to quit, as he used to smoke for someone. Now, he is on his own, and he does whatever he wants. The man says that the bad guy said that he wanted him to live a longer life than he did, so that he could provide for him when he was old. He says that he will be able to do this for the "bad" man if the man can control himself. The men discuss the progress of the log cabin, which is almost finished. The rain is expected soon, so the men decide to go check it out.