Book excerpt: Martha could have chosen another man. In that dump where she grew up, they were all falling at her feet. Because of her legs, actually - dancer's legs. But she loved Joe Telenko, a guy who drank too much and drove too fast. And ever since the accident, it's over. Just like life. These days, Martha chews over her hatred in a wheelchair. While Joe slogs around New York's shadiest neighborhoods in his taxi, she creeps around the house, rummaging through his things and reading his journal, just to get an idea of what his life is like. Nothing particularly surprising: some girl he hooks up with when he's got enough cash to get her drunk, visits to Arthur the medic, a tachycardia problem and a few notes like "I'm going to kill her." That's right. Joe wants Martha's head on a platter, and Martha herself would like to see Joe croak. The only reason they don't separate is because each of them hopes to one day gaze down on the corpse of the other...