Bandit

Bandit begins with the story's namesake, Bandit the Raccoon, on a dumpster-dive outing that goes sideways when he encounters Rich, one of the novel's ten principal characters. Rich, an untreated alcoholic and general contractor, is a key player in a money laundering operation for Mack and Darleen "Lean" Voldelig, kingpin weed growers in the mountains of Southern Oregon. It is 2012, the cusp of the decriminalization of cannabis in many U.S. states, and Mack is determined to make his exit from his illicit enterprise while the going is still good. His wife is much less enthusiastic about giving up the business in which she has been so successful. Even less thrilled is Rich's "buddy" and money-laundering colleague, Jeffery Devolder, an accountant who has profited nicely for his part in disguising the true origins of the Voldeligs' sizeable income. Meanwhile, Rich's unwitting neighbor, Gary Coons, has learned he has pancreatic cancer but is determined to not burden his wife with this knowledge or leave crushing medical bills after he dies. Charlie is irritated by her husband's off-behavior, which only deepens her feeling that she has devoted too much of herself to career, marriage, and being a mother. It is high time that she devoted her energies to what makes her happy. If only she knew what that was. Perhaps an affair? Bandit the raccoon's own tale, which spans the entire novel, contains parallels to those of the human characters in the story. Relatively old, he has reached a period of life fraught with self-reflection and general turmoil, being stuck in his ways despite recognizing the need for change. Like Gary, the odds of him living much longer aren't good, but he too draws strength from practicing awareness - albeit it comes naturally to the raccoon - and is a model of resiliency for all the characters portrayed in the story.