Julian Blushingame admits he has a problem. For many months, he has spent enormous amounts of time in Birmingham's crack whoredom. Julian loves it, loathes it, cherishes it, fondles it, and regrets it. Between jaunts, he manages to fulfill the simple responsibilities of his easy job and live not so differently from any other late twenty-something. He stumbled into this obsession while researching the history of a Birmingham, Alabama, public housing community from the middle of the twentieth century. While Julian does his best to complete his historical research, he can think only about the women he sees everyday walking the sidewalks of the city. Not only does he become deeply infatuated with one streetwalker, he eventually becomes the most pathetic pervert-a daytime regular at a third-rate strip joint.
But Julian's addiction may cost him his life. An unlucky witness to the killing of a streetwalker, he's been kidnapped by two violent and angry men and is held captive. He doesn't know if his captors plan to release him or if they will kill him.