Hearts in Atlantis brings together five interconnected stories following a group of characters whose lives are shaped by childhood, the Vietnam War, loss, guilt, and the lasting influence of the 1960s.
In “Low Men in Yellow Coats,” eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield befriends Ted Brautigan, an elderly man who moves into his boarding house. Ted hires Bobby to watch for strange signs appearing around the neighbourhood, drawing him into a dangerous world Bobby does not fully understand.
The title story follows a group of college students whose obsession with playing cards threatens their studies as the Vietnam War and anti-war movement increasingly intrude on campus life. Later stories revisit characters connected to Bobby as they struggle with their experiences during and after the war.
Spanning nearly forty years, the stories gradually reveal how childhood experiences, war, friendship, and regret continue to shape the characters long after the events themselves have passed.