John’s father is paralyzed from a job injury when John is 6, and John grows up without a father in the home. A wild child, his mother takes him along as she cleans the homes of Jews, and he learns Bible stories. They also go to church, but John rejects Christ. He uses drugs, drops out of high school to join the army and marries Carla. Children are born, but he can’t quit drugs; he goes to prison again and she waits for him. He works with Jewish gangsters and his wife and he separate. The first part ends as John’s mother dies of cancer and he is bereft.