In the musical abyss between New York City and Philadelphia (otherwise known as "New Jersey"), the only place to see punk bands in 1987 is the 321 Club. For suburban outcasts of any age the rundown club in the ghettos of Trenton is both a gauntlet and a haven. For Nick Lablanche, it promises an escape from a life ruled by silence: the uneasy hush of his parents' house, the vacuum-sealed void of a corporate office, and the inner silence of a depression that's dogged him since high school. At the club, bouncers scream in his face, he can't last longer than a few seconds in the pit without getting knocked down, and skinheads stalk the new "poser." But Nick persists and falls in with a group of fellow misfits: the romantic skinhead Victoria, the bookish Oz, the angry but idealistic Austin, and Bird, who becomes his sarcastic guide in his search for an identity and a community. But Nick's world may go silent again before his search is over. The stock market crash looms, Nick's parents have lost their patience with his late-blooming rebellion, and gangs and violence threaten to overtake the club. Inspired by the punk and hardcore scene that flourished at the infamous Trenton nightclub City Gardens, This Is What You Want, This Is What You Get is a tightly woven tale of suburban punks suspended between the brutal energy of a fleeting underground scene and the complacent home life that has provided everything they could want . . . except the answers they need.