Page "Hearts in Atlantis" Paragraph 10

Peter Riley quickly falls behind in his studies, but even though he knows he might flunk out, he is unable to stop himself.

Meanwhile, he meets Carol Gerber, Bobby Garfield's friend and childhood sweetheart from Low Men in Yellow Coats.

Peter Riley falls in love with her, and with her help tries to cure himself of the addiction to Hearts.

However, he is too self-involved and therefore unaware that Carol herself has become caught up in an escapist addiction of her own: student activism, her own attempt to pay tribute to her friendship with Bobby Garfield and a call to action to stop the war.

Stokely " Stoke " Jones, a firebrand activist who cannot get around without crutches, introduces the " peace sign " to Peter and his friend, Stanley " Skip " Kirk, by displaying it on the back of his jacket.

As Peter Riley and his friends ' self-destructive addiction to Hearts continues, the Vietnam War grows closer, and signs of defiance appear in the hearts and minds of the students, even in Riley's room-mate, a shy pre-dent student struggling with doing what he feels is right and just or disappointing his parents.