Florida's Wild Nightfall

The story opens in a feverish, surreal Florida as Character, the night after the Marlins' 1997 World Series victory. The state's oddball denizens—criminals, losers, and dreamers—are set in motion by the energy of the win. A murder in a seedy motel, a convenience store brawl, and a cast of misfits are introduced, all orbiting around the same night of celebration and violence. The tone is set: Florida is a place where the absurd and the deadly are inseparable, and the line between celebration and catastrophe is razor-thin.

The Grifters' Web

Multiple storylines converge: Wilbur Putzenfus, a cowardly insurance executive, turns to fraud after denying claims to the sick and dying; Sharon, a manipulative beauty, marries and murders for money; and a trio of hapless bikers, Stinky, Cheese-Dick, and Ringworm, are kicked out of their gang and drift into vigilante justice. The narrative weaves together their scams, betrayals, and the darkly comic consequences of their actions, all set against the backdrop of Florida's sun-bleached decay.

Death, Insurance, and Malathion

Wilbur's death by medical neglect (after being shot and denied care by his own HMO) and the malathion-poisoning of a socialite expose the corruption and callousness of Florida's institutions. Sharon and her lover, Nigel, profit from these deaths, only for Sharon to kill again for insurance money. The chapter satirizes the intersection of greed, bureaucracy, and environmental disaster, painting Florida as a place where life is cheap and scams are a way of life.

Serge and Coleman Collide

Serge Storms, a manic, encyclopedic Florida-phile with a penchant for violence, meets Coleman, a dim-witted, substance-abusing loser, in jail. Their instant, odd-couple friendship is forged through shared stories of trauma and a mutual love of Florida's weirdness. Upon release, they embark on a spree of petty crime, drug-fueled adventures, and philosophical rants, quickly becoming the story's chaotic engine.

Sharon's Deadly Charms

Sharon, now a stripper and con artist, latches onto Serge and Coleman, using her sexuality and ruthlessness to manipulate both men and marks. The trio's robberies escalate in violence, culminating in the murder of two Canadian tourists. Sharon's volatility and Serge's mania create a combustible partnership, with Coleman as the hapless sidekick. Their crimes draw the attention of both law enforcement and the criminal underworld.

The Biker Vigilantes

Stinky, Cheese-Dick, and Ringworm, now bikeless, find purpose as unlikely heroes, defending elderly residents of a corrupt retirement park from predatory management. Their crude methods and loyalty endear them to the retirees, sparking a rebellion against the park's exploitative overlords. The bikers' arc provides comic relief and a subversive take on justice, as the powerless fight back in absurd, often violent ways.

Retirement Racket Rebellion

The retirement park, run by the villainous Max Minimum and developer Fred McJagger, becomes a battleground. The bikers lead the residents in a campaign of sabotage and resistance, turning the tables on their tormentors. The rebellion is both slapstick and poignant, highlighting themes of exploitation, dignity, and the unexpected power of community—even among Florida's most vulnerable.

The Dentist's Dismemberment

Serge and Coleman blackmail and then maim George Veale, a wealthy, debauched orthodontist, to collect on his hand insurance. The scheme spirals into violence and farce, with Veale losing fingers and his sanity. The money is laundered through a series of increasingly desperate and criminal acts, drawing in mobsters, corrupt politicians, and a cocaine cartel, all seeking their cut.

The World Series Heist

As the Marlins and Indians battle in Game 7, all the storylines converge. Serge, Coleman, Sharon, and Veale's stolen money, the bikers' rebellion, and the cartel's vengeance all collide in a frenzy of violence, blackmail, and mistaken identity. The World Series becomes both a literal and metaphorical backdrop for Florida's chaos, with the outcome of the game echoing the unpredictable, lawless spirit of the state.

Roadtrip to Ruin

Serge, Coleman, and Sharon embark on a drug-fueled road trip from Tampa to Miami to the Keys, pursued by mobsters, law enforcement, and their own demons. Along the way, they encounter a parade of Florida archetypes—corrupt cops, failed developers, washed-up celebrities, and more—each vignette a satirical snapshot of the state's dysfunction and dark allure.

The Keys: Pursuit and Chaos

The chase reaches the Florida Keys, where Serge and Coleman's crimes catch up with them. A series of increasingly absurd and deadly confrontations ensue: a death metal band is hired as hitmen, a Promise Keepers bus runs over a would-be Satanist assassin, and a mob of Hemingway lookalikes stampedes through Key West. The law, represented by the competent Sergeant Susan Tchoupitoulas, closes in.

The Tortugas Showdown

The climax unfolds at the remote Dry Tortugas, where the stolen money is hidden. Sean and David, two relatively innocent friends on a fishing trip, are drawn into the maelstrom. The various villains—Saffron, Minimum, the cartel—converge for a final, bloody reckoning. Betrayals, shootouts, and darkly comic deaths abound, as the characters' greed and madness reach their zenith.

The Final Reckoning

In the aftermath, most of the major villains are dead—killed by their own schemes, each other, or the environment. Serge survives a near-death experience, Susan proves herself as a cop, and Sean and David escape with their lives (but not the money). The stolen fortune vanishes, and the cycle of Florida's madness continues, unresolved and unpunished.

Aftermath in Paradise

The survivors—Susan, Sean, David—find a measure of peace in Key West, while Serge, ever the trickster, disappears into the Florida night. The bikers, now local heroes, ride off into the sunset. The state's institutions remain as corrupt and absurd as ever, but life goes on, and the sun keeps shining.

The Meaning of Madness

The novel's events are revealed as both a satire and a love letter to Florida—a place where the American dream mutates into nightmare, but also where resilience, humor, and community persist. The characters' madness is both a product of their environment and a survival strategy.

The American Dream, Florida-Style

Through its rogues' gallery, the novel explores the dark side of the American dream: the pursuit of wealth at any cost, the willingness to reinvent oneself, and the thin line between success and disaster. Florida is depicted as the ultimate land of second chances—and last resorts.

The Enduring Sunshine State

Despite the violence and corruption, the novel ends on a note of wry optimism. Florida endures, its beauty and weirdness undiminished. The characters, for all their flaws, are survivors—testaments to the state's chaotic, indomitable spirit.

Characters

Serge A. Storms

Serge is a hyperactive, obsessive-compulsive, and intermittently psychotic Floridian with a deep, almost spiritual love for his home state. He's both a tour guide and a vigilante, dispensing trivia and violence in equal measure. His moral compass is erratic: he's capable of both compassion and cruelty, often in the same breath. Serge's mania is fueled by a cocktail of untreated mental illnesses, and his actions oscillate between darkly comic and genuinely disturbing. His partnership with Coleman is the novel's chaotic heart, and his encyclopedic knowledge of Florida serves as both a running joke and a lens for the state's madness.

Coleman

Coleman is Serge's dim-witted, substance-abusing companion. Traumatized by childhood abuse and forever seeking approval, he drifts through life in a haze of drugs, alcohol, and confusion. Despite his incompetence, he's loyal to Serge and occasionally stumbles into moments of insight or heroism. Coleman's innocence and obliviousness provide comic relief, but also highlight the novel's underlying sadness: he's a casualty of Florida's dysfunction, surviving by going with the flow.

Sharon Rhodes

Sharon is a beautiful, manipulative femme fatale who uses sex, violence, and charm to get what she wants. She marries and murders for insurance money, cons her way through relationships, and is both a victim and perpetrator of Florida's predatory culture. Sharon's psychological profile is complex: she's driven by greed, addiction, and a deep-seated nihilism, but also by a desperate need for control in a world that constantly threatens to consume her.

George Veale III

Veale is a wealthy orthodontist whose vanity and greed make him an easy mark for Serge and Sharon. His descent from arrogant party animal to mutilated, traumatized victim is both comic and tragic. Veale's willingness to commit fraud, his obsession with his hands, and his ultimate breakdown serve as a satire of professional hubris and the fragility of privilege.

Max Minimum

Minimum is the embodiment of Florida's exploitative real estate culture: a slick, ruthless operator who preys on the elderly and vulnerable. His schemes—ranging from maintenance scams to outright intimidation—are both ingenious and despicable. Minimum's eventual downfall at the hands of his own victims is a darkly satisfying reversal, but his lack of remorse underscores the novel's cynicism about institutional change.

Fred McJagger

McJagger is Minimum's boss and the mastermind behind the retirement park racket. He's a caricature of the self-made Florida tycoon: brash, self-important, and utterly lacking in empathy. His obsession with image and profit blinds him to the rebellion brewing under his nose, and his eventual loss of control is both comic and inevitable.

Stinky, Cheese-Dick, and Ringworm

This trio of failed bikers, initially comic relief, become unlikely champions of the oppressed retirees. Their crude methods and outsider status allow them to succeed where others have failed. Psychologically, they're driven by a need for belonging and respect, which they finally find among the elderly. Their arc is a subversive take on heroism and redemption.

Charles Saffron

Saffron is the president of New England Life and Casualty, a man whose legitimate and criminal enterprises are indistinguishable. He's ruthless, intelligent, and ultimately undone by his own greed and the chaos he unleashes. Saffron's psychological profile is that of a sociopath: charming, manipulative, and utterly self-serving.

Sean Breen and David Klein

Sean and David are childhood friends whose fishing trip becomes a journey through Florida's madness. Sean is the affable, family-oriented ad man; David, the stoic, principled prosecutor. Their friendship is the novel's emotional anchor, and their outsider perspective provides a counterpoint to the surrounding insanity. Both are tested by violence and temptation, but ultimately retain their integrity.

Susan Tchoupitoulas

Susan is a young, capable Key West police sergeant, navigating both the dangers of the case and the sexism of her department. She's smart, tough, and ethical, serving as a rare force for order and justice in the novel's chaos. Her relationship with her father and her growing connection to David add depth and humanity to the story.

Plot Devices

Interwoven, Colliding Storylines

Dorsey structures the novel as a series of interlocking stories—each with its own cast, tone, and stakes—that gradually converge around the stolen money and the World Series. This mosaic approach allows for a panoramic satire of Florida, with each subplot illuminating a different facet of the state's dysfunction. The narrative's energy comes from the constant collision of characters and schemes, with chance and coincidence driving the plot as much as intention.

Satire and Black Comedy

The novel's tone is relentlessly satirical, using humor to expose the cruelty, corruption, and madness of its world. Violence is often played for laughs, and the most grotesque events are rendered in deadpan prose. This black comedy serves both to entertain and to critique: by making the reader laugh at the horror, Dorsey forces a confrontation with the underlying reality.

Florida as Character

Florida is more than a backdrop—it's an active force in the story, shaping the characters' actions and destinies. The state's history, geography, and culture are woven into the narrative through Serge's monologues, the characters' obsessions, and the plot's logic. The weather, wildlife, and built environment all play roles in the unfolding chaos, reinforcing the idea that Florida is both paradise and purgatory.

MacGuffin: The Stolen Money

The five million dollars, stolen through insurance fraud and pursued by criminals, cops, and innocents alike, is the novel's central MacGuffin. It motivates betrayals, murders, and alliances, but ultimately proves elusive and destructive. The money's journey mirrors the characters' own: a path of greed, violence, and disappointment.

Pop Culture and Historical References

The novel is dense with references to Florida's real and imagined history, from the space program to Miami Vice to Hemingway lookalikes. These allusions serve both as comic texture and as commentary on the state's identity as a land of reinvention, nostalgia, and spectacle.

Foreshadowing and Irony

Dorsey uses foreshadowing to build suspense and irony to undercut expectations. Characters' plans are constantly undone by their own flaws or by random chance, and the novel delights in reversing fortunes and exposing the gap between intention and outcome. The result is a sense of inevitability: in Florida, nothing goes as planned, and everyone is both predator and prey.

Analysis

Florida Roadkill is a frenetic, darkly comic tapestry of the Sunshine State's underbelly, where greed, violence, and absurdity reign. Through its sprawling cast and interwoven plots, the novel satirizes the American dream gone feral: the pursuit of wealth, the cult of reinvention, and the thin veneer of civilization over chaos. Dorsey's Florida is both a paradise and a madhouse, a place where the marginalized and the monstrous thrive, and where survival requires both cunning and madness. The book's humor is both a coping mechanism and a weapon, exposing the cruelty and corruption at every level of society. Yet, beneath the carnage and farce, there's a grudging affection for the state's resilience and weird beauty. The lesson is clear: in Florida, as in America, the line between success and disaster is vanishingly thin, and the only certainty is that the sun will rise on another day of glorious, unhinged possibility.

Last updated: May 15, 2025