Joe McDowell steals coins from his mother's change purse. Why? Because he wants things that a poor farm boy can never have. And from his point of view, it gets worse. Not only does Joe's older brother, Ted, go to fight in World War II, but it also looks as if Joe will have to become the fourth generation McDowell man to run the farm. And maybe he doesn't want that. But how can he let Daddy down? Will Mama help him, since she grew up in Raleigh and knows what it's like to live somewhere else? Can the family survive the crisis that comes next?Joe pulls us into his life on the cusp of adolescence and major decisions. He must make an irrevocable choice between his personal desires and his family's needs during a great transition in the American story.