Roland continues his quest for the tower. Injured from attacks by strange creatures, he fights both sickness and the first man he brings back to his world, Eddie Dean.
Eddie is a drug addict that was saved from the police when he was caught smuggling drugs in a plane in 1997. He resents Roland, and the new life that was thrust apon him, and this is made worse by his need for drugs, something that does not exist in Rolands world.
The two continue the quest and find a second person, a schizophrenic woman who causes more than a few problems for them all. Odetta Holmes is a black woman with a good side, and an evil side known as Detta Walker. She had her legs chopped off on August 19, 1959 by a train, and the evil Detta starts comming forward more often. The two sides battle themselves, along with Roland and Eddie, with interesting consequences. Eventually the two personalities combine to form a new person: Susanna Dean.
The third person they encounter ties back into both Jake Chambers life, and that of Odetta Holmes. He pushed Jake in front of the car and dropped the brick on Odetta as a child, and pushed Odetta infront of the train that caused her to loose her legs. Roland thinks this man should be punished, rather than being brought into his world.
Published by Donald M. Grant, 1987
Dedication: To Don Grant, who's taken a chance on these novels, one by one.