Ruby Pier is an amusement park set near an unnamed ocean. As a child, Eddie spends most of his days at Ruby Pier because his father is a ride mechanic. At first, like any child, Eddie sees Ruby Pier as an exciting, colorful place full of adventure. Eddie meets a variety of people there and he learns to juggle as well as shoot guns, and it is at Ruby Pier where he meets his future wife, Marguerite. Ruby Pier is the center of Eddie’s world as a kid, but he never intended to stay there. Eddie dreamed of leaving the area and becoming an engineer. His father is offended by Eddie’s changing attitude toward Ruby Pier because he feels that Eddie believes he is too good for the life his father has lived.

Eddie goes to war and his experiences combined with a devastating injury to his leg causing him to give up on his dreams and take a job driving a taxi. He feels trapped in his depression and his choices, but at least he’s not working the same dead-end job his father worked his entire life. However, when Eddie’s father dies unexpectedly and his mother begins to decline, he returns to his childhood home and takes a job at Ruby Pier.