Chapter Thirty-Five Summary & Analysis
Spoiler Warning
This page contains a complete summary and detailed analysis of Chapter Thirty-Five of City in Ruins. It reveals major plot developments, including backstory and character decisions that are central to the novel’s final act. If you prefer to read blind, return to the book before proceeding.
Summary
Danny and Abe sit on the lakeside lawn of the cottage in Adirondack chairs. Abe remarks that old men and men with heavy burdens don’t sleep, then asks Danny if he has time for a story. He recounts the fate of his two younger brothers, Julius and Nathan. In the mid-1960s, the brothers ran a long-term card-cheating scam in Las Vegas, Reno, and Tahoe, using a tiny mirror in the dealing shoe to signal the next card. They cycled disguises and false IDs, making huge money, but Julius spent lavishly on tailored clothes and expensive women, attracting attention.
Their downfall came at the Moonglow Hotel, where Detroit capo Alfred “Allie Boy” Licata oversaw the mob’s skim. Julius couldn’t resist cheating there, partly to spite Licata after a dispute over a woman. After several warnings from Licata, including a visit to Abe, Julius returned in disguise and got caught again. Licata promised to kill them if they didn’t stop. Julius’s response: “Then they’re going to have to fucking kill us.” He went back, scored, and then found Nathan missing. A phone call lured him to a warehouse, where Nathan was chained naked. Licata shot Nathan in the forehead in front of Julius, then had Julius knocked unconscious, stripped, and chained face-to-face to his dead brother’s body. For three days they forced water down his throat while Licata occasionally sat and smoked, denying Julius’s pleas for death. When dumped behind Abe’s hotel, Julius was hopelessly insane, a drooling wreck who could never testify. He spent twenty years in a mental ward before dying.
Abe sold his hotel and left Las Vegas. He then tells Danny that Vernon Winegard, who supposedly built his casino empire clean, still pays Licata points. Because Danny accepted Abe’s earlier refusal with dignity and never threatened mob muscle, Abe trusts him. On Monday, the Stern group will buy enough Tara stock to block the takeover. Danny and Abe will be partners, but Joshua Stern will move to Las Vegas to oversee their interests. Danny promises to take care of Joshua like his own family, and they shake hands.
Key Events
- Abe and Danny sit by the lake, and Abe offers to tell an old story.
- Abe describes how his brilliant but arrogant brothers Julius and Nathan ran a mirror-based card cheating scam across Nevada casinos.
- Julius repeatedly defied mob capo Licata at the Moonglow, leading to escalating threats.
- Licata murders Nathan in front of Julius, then chains Julius to his brother’s rotting body for three days, destroying his sanity.
- Abe reveals that Vernon Winegard still pays Licata points, linking Winegard’s casino origins to the mob.
- Abe announces the Stern group will buy enough Tara stock to stop the hostile takeover, making him Danny’s partner.
- Abe insists Joshua will move to Las Vegas to oversee the investment, and Danny vows to protect him.
Character Development
- Danny Ryan: Remains humble and patient, listening without interruption. His quiet dignity in accepting earlier rejection earns Abe’s respect. He internalizes the brutality of Abe’s story and recognizes the danger behind Winegard’s clean image. His promise to protect Joshua signals a new, protective responsibility.
- Abe Stern: Reveals the deep personal trauma that shaped his hatred for mob violence and his reluctance to return to Vegas. By helping Danny, he seeks a form of delayed justice against Licata through Winegard. His decision to send Joshua shows he still values legacy and family, but on his own terms.
- Julius Stern: Arrogant, reckless, and ultimately self-destructive, yet in his final act he proves willing to die for his brother. His pride and mouth sealed his fate, but his insanity is a testament to Licata’s inhuman cruelty.
- Nathan Stern: The follower who pays with his life, a victim of his brother’s defiance; his body is never found, adding to the tragedy.
- Alfred Licata: A sadistic mob enforcer who builds a casino career through violence. His connection to Winegard reveals that the Vegas establishment rests on buried horrors.
- Joshua Stern: Positioned as the family’s future in Vegas, trusted by Abe as smart and capable. Danny’s vow ties him closer to the Stern legacy.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Dignity vs. Pride: Abe distinguishes between sustaining dignity (which he values) and destructive pride (which ruined Julius). Danny’s dignified acceptance contrasts with Julius’s fatal arrogance.
- Revenge and Legacy: Abe long suppressed his desire for revenge, but partnering with Danny against Winegard becomes an indirect strike at Licata. The chapter frames revenge not as hot-blooded violence but as a cold, patient business move.
- Mob Brutality and the Asylum: Julius’s three-day chaining to his brother’s corpse is the novel’s most graphic portrayal of mob sadism, designed not just to kill but to annihilate identity and sanity.
- The Illusion of Clean Money: Winegard’s “clean” casino empire is built on Licata’s blood money, challenging the myth that Vegas ever truly broke free of the mob.
- Water and Stillness: The peaceful lake setting contrasts sharply with the story of horror and the chaotic, violent world of Las Vegas. It offers a temporary haven before Danny re-enters the fight.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter Thirty-Five pivots the narrative from personal ambition and revenge to a strategic alliance built on shared history. Abe’s horrific family story transforms him from a reluctant elder into an active investor with a motive that goes beyond profit. The revelation that Winegard still pays Licata gives Danny a chink in his enemy’s armor—Vern’s “clean” reputation is a lie. The deal reshuffles the power dynamics: Danny gains the financial firepower to save Tara, but he must now share control and take on a surrogate son in Joshua. The chapter also deepens the novel’s theme that every fortune in modern Vegas is haunted by past atrocities. By bookending the story with a handshake, Winslow signals that the old rules are being set aside for a new generation, but the ghosts are never far behind.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Abe Stern reverse his refusal and agree to help Danny?
Abe had refused Danny earlier out of a desire to keep his family away from mob violence and Las Vegas. However, Danny’s graceful acceptance of that refusal—without threats or invoking mob names—impresses Abe. The revelation that Winegard still pays Licata provides a secondary motive: investing in Danny’s fight is a way for Abe to strike back at the man who destroyed his brothers, even if indirect and decades late. Trust and a shared enemy combine to change his mind.
2. How does the story of Julius and Nathan illuminate the novel’s portrayal of pride and brutality?
Julius’s arrogance and refusal to back down, even after many warnings, lead directly to his brother’s murder and his own madness. His pride is shown as a corrosive force that overrides survival instinct. Licata’s punishment—forcing Julius to be chained to his decomposing brother—is not merely execution but a deliberate destruction of mind and spirit. This sequence reveals the mob’s capacity for theatrical, inhuman cruelty, and it serves as a cautionary echo of the stakes Danny faces in his own battles.
3. What does the reveal about Winegard’s ties to Licata mean for Danny’s future?
Learning that Vernon Winegard still pays points to Licata erases any remaining moral high ground Vern might claim. Danny now knows his enemy’s clean public image is a veneer over mob roots. This knowledge is both armor and ammunition: it can be used to expose Winegard if necessary, but it also confirms that Vern will not hesitate to deploy ugly, violent tactics. The fight for Tara is no longer just a business battle—it’s a conflict with a man whose legacy is built on the kind of atrocity that destroyed Abe’s family.