'Although it is difficult to believe, the 60s are not fictional; they actually happened' (from the Author's Note).

"Hearts in Atlantis" comprises of five brilliant, interconnected, sequential narratives, each deeply rooted in the 60s and haunted by the Vietnam War: In "Low Men in Yellow Coats", 11-year-old Bobby discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror. In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game, discover the possibility of protest and confront their own collective heart of darkness.

In "Blind Willie" and "Why We're in Vietnam", two men who grew up with Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era.

And in "Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling", Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of redemption, and his heart's desire may await him.