Tormented by an abusive father, Boone spends most of his time second-guessing himself and looking over his shoulder. At 16 he’s old enough to just leave, but, with his mother and younger sister still in the house, he can’t quite make himself. Then, in a single weekend, everything changes. Boone is left struggling to come to terms with what just tore his family apart and the guilt he still feels about what happened to his brother Frankie almost two years ago. And to top it all, he sees the parts of his daddy that he hates most in some of his own thoughts and actions. With no one in his small farming community to turn to except maybe the old man who lives in the next house up the road, Boone’s options are limited. School is a waste of time, money is almost gone, and if there’s one thing his daddy taught him, it’s not to trust anybody. The discovery of a moonshine still on the property where his family was living leads Boone into a friendship with Gamaliel Everett, the old recluse who lives next door. They form both a partnership and a friendship that Boone leans on more and more. Gamaliel’s sudden illness leaves Boone no one to talk to about his fumbling attempts to start a relationship with Nancy, a classmate of his before Boone dropped out of school completely. Boone finds himself at odds with Gamaliel’s son-in-law, Jerry, who takes an immediate dislike to Boone. Gamaliel’s daughter, Carrie, grows to count on Boone to take care of her father and, after Gamaliel’s hospitalization, his house. Boone has to contend with the loss of his family, his awakening feelings for Nancy, Jerry’s attempts to get rid of him, the local authorities who would like to see him back in school, and a couple of thieves roaming the neighborhood. Far from being a saint or even a hero, Boone manages to survive his first year on his own and develop some forgiveness for the family that abandoned him.