Peepgass is alone and restless in his shabby rental unit at Normandy Lea Apartments, which lies on the outskirts of Buckhead, the fashionable neighborhood where Charlie lives. Peepgass’s life is in a mess. Until recently, he was living comfortably with his wife, Betty Pierce Peepgass, and their two children in a nice home. Peepgass met Betty at Harvard 21 years ago when she was getting a PhD in English, and he was studying for an MBA. Shortly after their marriage, Peepgass got a job offer from PlannersBanc and moved to Atlanta with Betty. Though the Boston-born Betty never liked Atlanta, she soldiered through for Peepgass’s sake.

Two years ago, Peepgass ran into Sirja, a beautiful young Finnish woman, on a flight to Helsinki, and they began an affair. Because PlannersBanc was flying Peepgass business class, Sirja assumed Peepgass was a tycoon. Peepgass was flattered by Sirja’s attention but did not tell her that though PlannersBanc gave him good perks, his gross salary was actually not very high. When Sirja got pregnant, Peepgass asked her to terminate the pregnancy. However, Sirja refused because of her Roman Catholic faith and moved to the US so Peepgass could support their child. Betty found out about the affair and asked Peepgass to leave the house.