The premise of Carter Clay is a guilty conscience. Instantly, I was brought back to Charles Dickens because same could have said for Great Expectations. In Great Expectations, Pip becomes a gentleman through the generousity of a convict Pip was forced to help earlier in his life. When he first finds out, he is disappointed his benefactor isn't someone more appropriate to society's standards. In Carter Clay there is a similar parallel. Carter Clay is a homeless drunk who accidentally plows his van into a family, killing the father and seriously wounding the mother and daughter. His guilt and sense of debt drive him to be close to his victims, to care for them as penance. Additional factors, such as the man who wants to kill him, complicate the plot. ( )