In the aftermath of Tom's death, Sam seeks solace in the changeless sea, swimming past the jetties and the boardwalk, past the Ferris wheel and carousel, past the music rising from the beachfront bars. He considers giving up the band, but he returns to it. Jillian comes back to town and reveals the cause of her pain and addiction. Sam promises to take care of her.  On July 4th, while Sam is playing at the Upstage, the club where Springsteen got his start, the Asbury Riots begin. In the midst...

Despite the consequences, Sam stops dealing. Awaiting Tillie's lieutenants, Sam gets an unexpected visit from his father, who brings some startling news. Theme Song: "Suddenly Saturday" by Outside the Box http://www.outsidetheboxband.com/

In the aftermath of his brother's death, Sam learns the truth about the botched robbery, the murder of Lebetz and the fate of the diving horse.  Tom's friend Brandon reveals his part in the prison murder of Tom. Theme Song: "All the Right Things" by Keith Kenny (www.keithkenny.net)

Pressured into dealing drugs, Sam hopes that his music will eventually break him out of the trap that he set for himself. When Julie loses faith in Sam, he is shaken and doubtful. On a rainy spring night, he is informed by an addict that Tom was killed in jail. Theme Song: "Highway 33" by the Backbeat (myspace.com/the backbeat)  

Against the backdrop of a warehouse music scene, Cassidy (AKA Tillie) reveals his plans for Sam. For the trouble Sam has caused in his efforts to free his brother, Sam will deal drugs for Cassidy. The guitar hero will become the new Mr. Peanut. Theme Song: "Fishy Graham Crackers" by Cosmic Juggernaut (myspace.com/cosmicjuggernaut)

Sam finishes recounting his two years in Asbury to his friend Glen. With Glen's help, Sam learns the source of the gun that killed Lebetz. Only Glen and Sam know where the gun came from and how it came to be in Tom's hand. The gun is effectively untraceable, which means Sam's brother Tom will likely beat the murder. On his drive back to Asbury, Sam picks up a couple of hitchhiking soldiers and breaking his apolitical stance advises them to head to Canada. Theme Song: "Song for the Willing"...

His brother remains in jail, but Sam struggles to keep the music going in a bleak Asbury winter. He moves into an apartment above a Cookman Avenue tavern, whose barmaid slips into Sam’s bed when the jukebox goes dark and reads to him from Atlas Shrugged. Detective Faber keeps his word to Sam, sends divers into Wesley Lake and finds a gun. It’s the right gun but the wrong gun--not the one Sam expected. Sam tracks the gun’s dark history.   Theme Song: “Alive” by Jody Joseph (www.jodyjoseph.net)

Sam vainly searches Wesley Lake for the murder weapon that will clear his brother in the murder of Lebetz. Trying to track down Mr. Peanut, a witness to the murder, Sam contacts Peanut's girlfriend Santa, which results in a steamy drug-enhanced night in the Heating Plant, and causes Sam to miss a gig. Now everyone is pissed off at Sam, including local hoods Sal and Sonny, who punish Sam for talking to the cops. Sam gets no response from the A&R man who seems so interested in Sam's band....

In an effort to get his brother a good lawyer, Sam looks to his biological father for help. With his mother in tow, Sam drives to Stephen Walczak's office in Jersey City, only to be turned away for the second time. Sam persists and tracks down Walczak at an exclusive restaurant, where Sam and Anne have a few drinks before Walczak shows up.  Anne's presence shakes up the lawyer, who is finally forced to admit paternity. Theme Song": "Stuck Here Awhile" By Christian Beach

Sam's brother Tom and his friend Brandon are arrested for the murder of Lebetz, the owner of the diving horse. Sam is certain of his brother's innocence, but Tom seems bent on self-destruction.   Theme Song: "Asbury Park" by Clare Means (www.claremeans.com)

Sam rescues the mysterious Mr. Peanut from some punks, which begins a Magical Mystery Tour of Asbury.  In the bowels of the abandoned Boardwalk Heating Plant,  Sam meets Mr. Peanut's girlfriend, the beautiful siren Santa, who trades sex and drugs for Sam's music. Mr. Peanut reveals his true identity and hints at the part he played in Lebetz's murder. Sam's brother Tom shows up at the Heating Plant and gets into a fight with Mr. Peanut, closing out this strange day. Subsequently, Tom and his...

Sam forms a new band called Pan. As a local band its success is instantaneous. Pan fills the clubs and stirs talk of a record contract. But the competition is intense. New bands arrive daily to try and knock Pan off its perch. When Julie travels to Europe for a month, Sam meets with Jillian, who has returned from a successful tour with a few bad habits. Jillian has lost none of her allure for Sam, and when he asks him to join her band, he is tempted. Theme Song: "I Don't Know" by Jon Caspi...

Sam's first band, The Neons, breaks up. Sam's relationship with Julie deepens, but Sam is still troubled by Julie's attitude toward the music. In seeking out a new band, Sam runs into Leo, a hardcase from his teenage years. But Leo has channeled his violent energies into music. He's a drummer. Sam will form a new band with Leo and a young black bassist named Lance. Theme Song: "Release With a Song" by David Trotta (www.davidtrotta.com)  

Wanting his band to get out on the road, Sam quits his job as the Antenna Man of Asbury Park. His boss isn't happy. When he gets home that evening, Sam discovers that all the band's equipment has vanished. When Sam and the other Neons go to the club to cancel their engagement, they're met by local hoods Sal and Sonny, who  think they have a lead on the stolen equipment. The hoods have the band follow them to a bungalow on the west side of the tracks. In the house, Sam finds his black friend...

Sam and Julie spend the night and then the morning together in Asbury. They wander the beach and boardwalk as the town awakens. Everything is perfect, until Julia voices her doubts about Sam's ambitions. Theme Song: "Sideways" by Lisa Bianco. (www.lisbianco.com)    

On the last night of summer,  Sam is playing at a beachfront bar when Julie, the girl that he loved and lost, walks in with some friends. It's been six years since last they met, and Julie is surprised and delighted by the transformation in Sam. High on her presence and rekindled interest in him, Sam spends the evening with her, ending up at an all-night diner on Asbury's Main Street. Jillian walks in on the couple. Theme Song: "The Girl of My Dreams" by The Backbeat...

Sam and Jillian meet in the Wonder Bar, where Jillian's reveals that her band has signed a record contract. Jillian offers Sam the position of second guitarist in the Decisive Moment, but determined to make it on his own, Sam turns down her offer. Robert Kennedy's assassination seems to be the prelude to social upheaval. Sam runs into Almost, his guide to Asbury Park, and invites him to his house for a drink. Almost is disclosing some inside information on Tillie, when Sam's landlord Luigi...

Like many cities in the nation, Asbury is a powder keg after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Sam is sent on a job to a mansion in Deal. Sam discovers that the mansion's owner is no other than Tillie. Tillie, also known as Mr. Cassidy, local mobster, has big plans for Asbury, which Sam mysteriously fits into.  Theme Song: "Neptune City Blues" by Coleman Brice (www.reverbnation.com/coliebrice)      

Sam gets in a band and thinks he's on his way. Heady with success, he attends a concert by Jillian's band, The Decisive Moment. He is blown away by Jillian's talent. After a put-down by Jillian's band mate, the arrogant Peter, Sam gives Jillian a ride home. She lives on a boat and he's invited below decks to play a song for her. Jillian reveals some secrets, and shares with Sam her cocaine. She eventually wants him to leave, but then invites him to stay.   Theme song: "The Last Goodbye" by...

With his hand repaired, Sam looks to get in a band and launch his career. He runs into the musician Peter, who gives him the brush off, but a short time later meets Jillian, who is just as alluring and impulsive as when he met her on the train. Sam learns that Jillian heads up the band The Decisive Moment and is invited to a local show. He wonders if the band is still looking for a guitarist, but the position is filled. Sam remains as outsider. On the same day, Sam is hired by Bott's TV &...

Hungover and recovering from a barroom beating, Sam walks the boardwalk, trying to figure out his next move. He meets a couple of local young women, who dazzle him with their innocence, Jersey girl beauty and love of rock and roll. Against his better instincts, Sam decides to the borrow the money needed to repair his hand. The money will come with a few strings attached.   Theme Song: "How Many Lives" By Keith Kenny (www.keithkenny.net)    .

Returning from his dismal  trip to Jersey City to tap his father for $2,000, Sam gets gloriously drunk in a number of Asbury Park dives. Pushing his luck in one bar, he offends a customer and is summarily trashed by the bartender and a local tough named Sal. Sal throws Sam out of the bar, but proves to be a straight-up kind of guy. He suggests the solution to Sam's problem is either robbing a liquor store or contacting an associate's loan company for quick and easy cash. Shoving the business...

With the wound to his left hand soon to become inoperable, Sam tracks down his biological father, a lawyer in Jersey City. Sam confronts Walczak in a posh restaurant, causing a scene. Walczak denies paternity and Sam is given the bum's rush back to Asbury Park.  Theme Song: "Sewer Water" by The Successful Failures (www.thesuccessfulfailures.com)

A physician informs Sam that if the wound to his hand isn't soon repaired, he will permanently lose use of his fingers. He needs $2,000 for the hand surgery. Desperate to remedy his situation, Sam plies his mother with drinks, hoping to get enough information on his biological father to track him down and pry loose some cash.  Theme Song: "Chase Love Away" by Spike Marlin (www.secretxmas.com)

With his wound not healing, Sam can’t play guitar and sees all his dreams going down the gutter. Holed up in his mother’s apartment while waiting out winter, he learns that owner of the diving horse was murdered during a robbery. Theme Song: "Fungoid Diplomacy" by Karmic Juggernaut. (www.myspace.com/karmicjuggernaut)