Since childhood, Riley has been a keen collector of bubble gum cards. Now, thirty years later, the one card missing from his collection is the legendary card 19 from the 1967 Mission Impossible television series, of which only one exists. One day a mysterious grey-haired man drops a playing card in a deserted alley. Riley picks it up. Is it a secret sign? Before long, he is finding all kinds of bubble gum and cigarette cards on the street, each one apparently containing a further hidden clue to a coded message. Will Riley rise to the challenge and discover the secret of the cards? And will he ever find illusive card 19? Exquisitely written, extremely funny, and visually stunning, The Card is the utterly unforgettable story of a man who views the world - and everything in it - just a little bit differently from the rest of us.