Troy Billings, at 6'1", 296 pounds, is standing at the edge of a subway platform seriously contemplating suicide when he meets Curt MacCrae, a sage-like, semi-homeless punk guitar genius who also happens to be a drop-out legend at Troy's school on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. "I saved your life. You owe me lunch," Curt tells Troy, and Troy can't imagine refusing; after all, think of the headline: FAT KID ARGUES WITH PIECE OF TWINE. But with Curt, Troy gets more than he bargained for and soon finds himself recruited as Curt's drummer. "We'll be called Rage/Tectonic. Sort of a punk rock, Clash sort of thing," Curt informs him. There's only one problem. Troy can't play the drums. Oh yes, and his father thinks Curt's a drug addict. And his brother thinks Troy's a loser. But with Curt, anything is possible. "You'll see," says Curt. "We're going to be HUGE. " In an outstanding, funny, edgy debut, K. L. Going presents two unlikely friends who ultimately save each other.
