Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. Short summary

5 seconds

The protagonist of the story, university student Pete Riley, talks about his youth, his friends Skip and Nata, and his first love, girlfriend Carol Gerber.

1 minute

The story is set at Men’s State University during the «hippie era.» The main character is student Pete Riley, who befriends Skip Kirk, who became a future famous artist, and Nat Hoppenstand, a diligent student.

Pete and Skip became addicted to the game of Hearts, for which they were nearly expelled from the school. But they kicked out Pete’s opponent, Ronnie Mailfant, who was drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam.

At university, Pete had his first crush on a girl, Carol Gerber, an anti-Vietnam War activist. The guy and the girl had their first intimacy in a car, but then Carol dropped out of university and broke up with Pete. Pete later learned that the organization of which the girl was a member approached terrorism. Another member of this cell was disabled Stokely Jones, who was protected by friends from headmaster David Dushborn.

Pete compares the whole period of his youth to Atlantis, sunk in the depths of the sea, which will never return.