A professor of engineering by day and a writer of detective fiction by night, Cole and the other survivors try to piece together the mysterious fate of their friend. The suspenseful story moves back and forth between the unfolding reunion gone bad and childhood events that involved these friends who grew up on the same street.
Looming largest in the memory of Dennis is the striking character of his widowed father, T. A.-Marine veteran of the Korean War and blue-collar philosopher. In his interactions with T. A, Dennis tries to make sense out of life; but instead of simple answers, puzzling questions of evil, human freedom, and the possibility of transformation are all T. A. seems to provide. These questions follow Dennis through young adulthood and beyond; they finally catch up to him in the surprising and thrilling climax of this novel.
A murder mystery and a coming of age story, both with many twists and turns,Terrapin is about man's potential for doing either good or evil, his tendency to do the latter, and his response to the consequences of his actions.