As a nineteen-year-old taxi driver for Vacant Taxis, Ed is at the threshold of adulthood. His role models for his current stage of life are Bob Dylan, Salvador Dali, and Joan of Arc, cultural touchstones that indicate Ed’s high standards. A dreamer, he passed through school unmotivated to excel at the curriculum, preferring to buy second-hand books and read widely on his own. Ed considers himself too lazy to go to college or vocational training. He mourns the death of his father to alcoholism six months before. Ed’s mother Bev disapproves of Ed the most among her four children. She sees in Ed’s lack of achievement her husband’s same hopelessness that doomed her to a hard life in their poor and rough town. Ed lives frugally with the family dog, Doorman, in a fibro shack, which is a small cement-clad house built in Australia in the 1950s. 

Ed’s greatest desire is to have the passionate romance with Audrey he’s longed for most of his life. But Audrey sets a boundary there, keeping it at friendship. Paradoxically, Audrey accepts intimacy only with those she doesn’t care about. Ed understands why she prefers sex to commitment. Growing up together, Ed watched people take advantage of her. Ed struggles to accept their platonic relationship but is afraid to make the first move. He considers himself inept at sex, as confirmed by the opinions of two girlfriends who critiqued his maneuvers as clumsy and laughable. Ed’s self-deprecating humor and keen empathy for others make him a loyal friend to Marv, Ritchie, and Audrey. They appreciate Ed as a steady if passive support. 

Ed’s search for meaning and purpose prime him to respond to the messages on playing cards that mysteriously arrive. His responses transform him from a passive observer to an active agent for change. As the missions become increasingly personal, Ed must come to terms with his own needs and fears. The missions prepare him to challenge the status quo of his closest relationships as he is called to challenge each friend to face their fears and better their lives. Ed comes to understand friendship as more than card games and banter when he decides to help his friends make better choices. By the end of the story, after taking the action needed to better his and others’ lives, Ed personifies the investment, mindfulness, and connection that mark a successful life.