In Aristotelian drama, the storey concerns a character whose stable life is knocked out of whack by an external force. The remainder of the storey concerns his attempts to put his life back into whack, and his success or failure. The out-of-whack event inaugurates the struggle. Commonly the out-of-whack event occurs at the novel's opening (e.g. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land, Valentine Michael Smith is brought to Earth; or Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber Corwin recovers his powers but not his memory). It may already be in the past (e.g. Silverberg, The Man in the Maze, the aliens tamper with Muller's brain to broadcast evil emotions). If the out-of-whack event is delayed too long, the storey seems to move slowly. "Shoot the sheriff on page 1."