Fifty Cents for a Dr Pepper

Eleven-year old Timothy Ryan Weaver - covered with blood, cut up, and bruised - doesn't know why he's crouched in a storm drain waiting for police sirens to fade. His Before and After are defined by this night, this moment, this...this.... But in August of 1999, Timmy reaches for memories like smoke on his fingertips. Chinese food, Sam returning from the trip, then.... But he can't catch the then.

In the days that follow, he tries to survive the aftermath of That Night. His days are darkened by hunger, his nights chased by a demon he doesn't recognize. To cope, Timmy clings to Before. He knows evil has splintered his perfect life. Before the storm drain, before being thrown onto the streets of Northern St. Louis to fend for himself, before he was bad.