The Harbours of the Moon
Rojack vomits over the balcony at a party and considers suicide. He leaves the party and calls his estranged wife Deborah, going to her house after she invites him. Ruta, the maid, lets him in. He notices that Deborah has been drinking. She belittles him in his time of need, and he strangles her on the floor.
A Runner from the Gaming Room
Rojack has sex with Ruta in her room. He then returns to Deborah's room, cleans up the evidence of murder, then throws her over the balcony making her death appear as a suicide. He tells Ruta that Mrs. Rojack killed herself.
A Messenger from the Maniac
Rojack asks Ruta to tell the cops nothing about their encounter. He runs to the street and sees Cherry Melanie, the night club singer, for the first time. He meets Detective Roberts at the scene of the "suicide." Depicted is Deborah's body smashed from impact and hit by a car. They go back upstairs, and Rojack fabricates a story about Deborah having cancer as the cause of her suicide. The police insist that Rojack come downtown for questioning. They meet Lt. Leznicki on the way out. Leznicki and O'Brien badger Rojack on the way to the police department. Rojack learns that one of the cars in the pile-up caused by Deborah was Eddie Ganucci, a mob boss wanted on a subpoena. Later Rojack sees Cherry again. He is drawn to her. It turns out that Deborah actually did have cancer so they release Rojack. Rojack goes to the club where Cherry performs in Greenwich Village.
Green Circles of Exhaustion
Rojack sits at the bar drinking and listening to Cherry perform. He joins Cherry and her "friends" for a drink, verbally sparring with her "date" Romeo. She and Rojack flirt and kiss; Rojack gets a call from Roberts who warns him to leave. He has an encounter with Tony, who orders Cherry to sing another set. She sings a hymn so Tony fires her. She leaves with Rojack, they get breakfast, and she invites him to a special place.
A Catenary of Manners
The special place is Cherry's post-mortem sister's old apartment. They have sex, and Rojack realizes he has fallen in love with her. He returns to his apartment in the afternoon and talks with Arthur who informs Rojack that Rojack's television show has been cancelled. He then speaks with Dr. Tharchman who tells Rojack that he must take leave from the college. When later talking to Bettina Gigot he picks up on a hint regarding Deborah concerning her father and daughter. Rojack then meets Roberts at the police station who presents him with three pieces of evidence that seem to implicate Rojack. Roberts presses him for a confession. Rojack refuses and is cleared of wrongdoing. Rojack goes back to Cherry and they make love.
A Vision in the Desert
Rojack and Cherry talk a bit about Rojack's TV show. Then, Cherry tells her life-story: her dead parents; her brother's incest; "Daddy Warbucks" who turns out to be Kelly; her escape from Vegas; her relationships; her two abortions, one with Kelly and one with a man named Shago; her finally having a vaginal orgasm with Rojack; and her premonition of death soon after. Shago appears at the chapter's end and tells Rojack to leave.
A Votive Is Prepared
Rojack and Shago fight. Rojack gets the upper hand and throws Shago down the stairs.
At the Lion and the Serpent
Rojack goes to the Waldorf Tower to confront Kelly. Rojack talks with Ruta and Deirdre before eating with Kelly. Rojack confesses to the murder of Deborah, then walks the parapet around the roof of the building, hitting Kelly with Shago's umbrella before escaping. He returns to Cherry's only to find out from Roberts she has been killed.
At the Harbors of the Moon Again (Epilogue)
Rojack travels to Las Vegas where he wins big at the tables, paying off all his debts. He imagines speaking with Cherry in Heaven before he heads south to Guatemala and the Yucatán.
