Character Relationship Map: Slither

Characters

• Dick Kanipsia (played by James Caan) — protagonist

  Dick Kanipsia is a car thief released on parole who hopes to go straight. After finding Harry Moss dying, he follows a lead about hidden stolen money and becomes involved with Barry Fenaka, Mary Fenak...

• Barry Fenaka (played by Peter Boyle) — protagonist

  Barry Fenaka is a small-time bandleader and Harry Moss's former partner in embezzling $312,000. He explains the missing money to Dick Kanipsia and travels with Dick and Mary Fenaka to recover it. Alth...

• Kitty Kopetzky (played by Sally Kellerman) — supporting

  Kitty Kopetzky appears to be a friendly, free-spirited woman who gives Dick Kanipsia a ride, then robs the diner where they stop. She later tracks Dick down and joins his search with Barry Fenaka and...

• Harry Moss (played by Richard B. Shull) — supporting

  Harry Moss is Dick Kanipsia's old friend and Barry Fenaka's former partner in the embezzlement. When Dick visits him after leaving prison, Harry is fatally shot and tells Dick to find Barry, who knows...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Harry Moss → Barry Fenaka (Professional Embezzlement Partner) — They are connected by a criminal financial scheme and the missing cash.

  Barry explains that he and Harry embezzled $312,000 and paid someone to hide the money.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Barry Fenaka → Kitty Kopetzky (Alliance Search Companion) — They become temporary members of the same traveling group.

  Kitty joins the group after tracking Dick, while Barry is part of the continuing search for the money and the suspicious vans.

• Dick Kanipsia → Kitty Kopetzky (Social Unpredictable Companion) — Kitty repeatedly enters and leaves Dick's journey while remaining closely involved with him.

  Kitty gives Dick a ride, robs the diner where they stop, later tracks him down, and joins the search.

• Dick Kanipsia → Barry Fenaka (Alliance Search Partner) — Barry becomes Dick's principal companion in the search.

  Dick finds Barry and travels with him while they follow the trail of the hidden money.

• Dick Kanipsia → Harry Moss (Social Old Friend) — Their established friendship brings Dick into the search for the hidden money.

  Dick visits Harry after leaving prison, and the plot explicitly describes Harry as an old friend.

Story Analysis

A parolee follows a stolen-money trail through deception, pursuit, and an anticlimactic revelation about what the money became.

Plot Progression

1. A Parole Shadow — Dick leaves prison determined to reform but immediately finds Harry dying. Harry's instruction and explosive death force Dick into the search for Barry and the hidden money.
2. A Strange Traveling Pair — Kitty gives Dick a ride, then unexpectedly robs a diner and separates from him. Dick reaches Barry, who explains the embezzlement and joins the search.
3. Vans on the Trail — Dick and Barry travel with the Airstream while following shifting leads through California. The recurring Willow Camp van turns an uncertain money hunt into a surveillance mystery.
4. The Camp Ambush — Kitty rejoins the group just as a second identical van appears and Barry disappears. Dick and Kitty investigate the trailer camp, where pursuers attack them and force a desperate escape.
5. The Money's Bitter Truth — Dick crashes one van and tracks a wounded pursuer to a roadside stand. The confession exposes the failed land scheme, while Barry's harmless absence leaves Dick disgusted and ready to walk away.