"At sunrise on the last day of summer an armored car exits the freeway near the police station and rumbles down Market Street toward the Embarcadero. Mama Celeste and other retirees waiting for the Social Security office to open watch as a speeding Ford Taurus inexplicably collides with the truck. Bills scatter everywhere. Mama Celeste is convinced she's having a vision: Judgment Day has finally come. She grabs a bag full of money and heads back to the Allen Hotel." "Here in Peter Plate's telling, the meanness and brutal honesty of the lives of the Allen Hotel residents worsen to the point where the only reasonable chance for escape is through an act of God."--BOOK JACKET.