Snyder met a lot of people while working as a performance poet at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Some of them became his very good friends. And one of those friends betrayed him. You'll have to read the book to find out who that was!

Olivia, a street musician, taught Snyder much of what he needed to know to succeed as a performer at the Market.

Anne was a violinist with the Seattle Symphony who sometimes played at Snyder’s performances. Her artistry with a rebec inspired Snyder’s later love for medieval and Renaissance music.

Dog was a philosophy instructor at the University of Washington. He and his biker friends provided security for Snyder’s performances at the Market.