In Part One, Wyatt is caught shoplifting in NYC while on vacation. As a result of the arrest, his fiancée leaves him, sticking him with the hotel bill. After getting booted out, he's robbed by a policeman and loses all his identification. From these bad beginnings, he chooses to just walk off Manhattan, depressed and lost, eventually landing in Jersey City. There, he meets a bartender who convinces him to go to Philadelphia and woo debutantes for money. During this scheme, he dates a rich banker's daughter, lies to her like crazy, and eventually gets engaged a second time. The banker finds him out, leading to a bloody end to his stay in Philadelphia.

In Part Two, three years later, Wyatt's hooked up with a new religion founded by a perfectly reasonable spiritualist author named Liam Corree. This man decides to go into politics, blurring the lines of religion and government. His terms in the Senate lead to a successful Presidential bid, where he takes Wyatt onto the bill as his running mate. To the surprise of the nation, Corree wins. Inexperienced and ultimately divisive, Corree's lack of practical political skill leads to street rioting and severe economic instability. He finds enemies in every corner of power, with only Wyatt as his protector. Wyatt is still weak, however, and he ends up betraying the man he respects because of his own Judas cowardice.

In Part Three, a South American serial killer, fueled by hatred for all things U.S., stumbles upon Wyatt, who is hidden away in a small village with his family. I won't spoil the ending here, but it's probably the greatest ending in the history of Western fiction. I'm kidding.

I know this is a mouthful of plot, but it really works on the page…