Synopsis

The novel orbits around two central characters: Bennie Salazar, an aging record executive trying to save his career in a changing music industry, and Sasha, his troubled assistant who compulsively steals objects as a way of connecting to the world. Through a series of interconnected stories that jump back and forth in time, Egan reveals the complex web of relationships that bind together a cast of characters whose lives intersect through music, love, and loss. We meet Scotty, a former punk rocker now living as a janitor who still dreams of musical stardom; Lou, a predatory music producer whose charm masks his manipulative nature; and Rhea, Bennie's ex-wife, whose teenage daughter navigates the digital landscape of the near future. Each chapter focuses on a different character and time period, from the punk scene of 1970s San Francisco to a dystopian vision of the 2020s where music marketing has become a form of social control. The stories reveal how the characters' younger selves connect to their older selves, and how the choices they made in youth continue to reverberate through their lives. Time emerges as the "goon squad" of the title—an unstoppable force that changes everyone and everything, yet somehow the power of music endures. Egan employs innovative narrative techniques, including a chapter told entirely through PowerPoint slides, to explore themes of authenticity, aging, technology, and the ways that art can transcend the limitations of time and circumstance.