Bucky Cantor is an enthusiastic 23-year-old playground director at the Chancellor Avenue School in Weequahic, Newark, New Jersey. Despite his small frame, Bucky is an accomplished athlete. He is a competitive javelin thrower, weightlifter, and diver. The story begins in 1944, during World War II. At this time, all of Bucky's friends and peers are enlisted and fighting abroad. Bucky's poor eyesight has disqualified him from serving, and he is racked with guilt for missing out on this formative nationwide experience. This event exacerbates Bucky's insecurities about his masculinity.
Bucky sees the playground as his battlefield, and he is keen to command it like a soldier. In the summertime, there is a polio outbreak that particularly affects Weequahic. Many of Bucky's students are afflicted, and the results are devastating. Day after day, more students become paralyzed and die. Bucky, who has been raised as an observant Jew, begins to question his faith. The events seem senseless, and he is deeply impacted by the children's suffering.
Bucky's early life was ridden with tragedy. After his mother died in childbirth, his father was imprisoned and then abandoned his family. Consequently, Bucky was raised by his grandparents. Bucky's grandfather was particularly tough, and he wanted to ensure his grandson's emotional and physical strength. We learn that Bucky's grandfather has passed away three years prior to the beginning of the story, and Bucky is now the primary caregiver for his grandmother.
Bucky is happy about his relationship with Marcia, a fellow teacher who is spending her summer working as a camp counselor in the Poconos. Marcia calls Bucky frequently, worrying that he will contract polio if he remains in Newark. Bucky initially refuses Marcia's offer. One day, however, after visiting Marcia's father, he decides that he wants to propose to his girlfriend. He leaves Newark for Indian Hill Summer Camp to inform Marcia of the good news and spend the rest of the summer with his new fiancée.
Indian Hill strikes Bucky as utopian. However, Bucky is unable to fully enjoy the camp because he feels so guilty for abandoning the playground children. He vacillates between returning to Newark or remaining at Indian Hill, ultimately settling on the latter. Polio, however, knows no boundaries. A few weeks after his arrival, one of Bucky's best friends and co-counselors contracts polio. Bucky's guilt magnifies, as he is convinced that he is the carrier that has brought polio from Newark to Indian Hill.
Within 48 hours, life changes drastically. Summer camp ends prematurely, and Bucky goes to the hospital to check if he could possibly be a polio carrier. Although he has not previously had any symptoms, Bucky tests positive for polio. He is soon afflicted with all of the debilitating symptoms, and he is partially paralyzed. He remains in a brace or wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Nearly 25 years later, a former playground student named Arnie Mesnikoff encounters Bucky on the street. Like Bucky, Arnie contracted polio and survived. He also wears leg braces and struggles with mobility. The two begin to have weekly lunches together, where Bucky divulges the events of the past quarter century. Arnie is revealed to be the narrator of Nemesis.
Arnie learns that following Bucky's diagnosis, he became depressed and saw his life as irrecoverable. He remains convinced that he carried polio to the playground children and to Indian Hill campers, and he continues to feel immensely guilty. Additionally, he asked Marcia to leave him to "protect her" from having a crippled husband. He never dated or remarried, and he remains heartbroken and alone. Arnie tries to cheer Bucky up, but he realizes that he has spent the last decades ashamed of himself and his condition. The story ends when Arnie reminisces about his school days. He recalls the community's admiration of Bucky Cantor. He prefers to remember this version of Bucky, the strong javelin thrower and hero.
