At 26, Tom Mitchell's fake parents are dead, his only friend won't speak to him, and he works the afternoon shift at Rudy's Grocery, where he begrudgingly stocks shelves, gathers carts, and deals with annoying customers. When the three main employee groups at Rudy's (the Old Men, the Women's Circle, and the Voyeurs) declare war on one another and start looking for new recruits, Tom is pressured to join a side. He's really not interested in joining anything. He doesn't want anything to do with anyone and spends his time filling his head with random thoughts, imaginary scenarios, and all sorts of nonsense. The only person Tom has any real connection with is his roommate and best friend, Henry, who's been sitting on an E-Z-Rest recliner for the past eight years and hasn't uttered a word in months. When Henry magically gets up off the E-Z-Rest and starts working at Rudy's, Tom believes having him around will solve all his problems. But the truth is that Tom's real problems have just begun.