"A bearded man in a badly soiled suit known only The Stranger wanders the fringes of a dying metropolis, looking for a way to 'get back on top.' Thwarted and rejected at every turn--even by the author of this novel, whom he visits repeatedly in unsuccessful attempts to determine the outcome of his own narrative--his impotence and rage drive him to acts of seemingly senseless violence. He encounters various characters on his journey: three skinheads who beat him senseless, a pack of sadistic boys who torture him, a deaf-mute woman who tries to heal him, and a deranged man who identifies him as The One. A sidewalk preacher and a crew of lost souls attempt to follow his trail, and an innocent boy ignites a fire that threatens to consume them all."--P. [4] of cover.