Helped only by a few clues his mother left him, and his own mental list of "Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself," Bud makes his way to a food pantry, then to the library to do some research (only to find that his beloved librarian, one Charlemae Rollins, has moved to Chicago), and finally to the local Hooverville where he just misses hopping a freight to Chicago.

but there is a palpable sense that we are living in a barren ruin of a country, a Hooverville from sea to shining sea.

As in earlier books such as The Ornament Tree, Jean Thesman here skillfully uses period details--descriptions of the local Hooverville, prize night at the movies, conflicts with religious fanatics--to develop her characters and provide a solid foundation for her story.