The first part begins as Frank visits an inmate in prison. He relates how he was bullied by his older brother and hoped the brother would get killed in Vietnam, then felt responsible when this happened. He is expelled from school many times; his mother threatens to kill him and banishes him from home except to sleep. His father doesn’t know what to do. Frank goes into a black depression, and at 15 sees a psychiatrist at school. He steals, lies and is permanently expelled for violence. He and a friend smoke pot and steal marijuana from a grower. The first part ends as Frank, now saved, witnesses to the inmate.