Introduction

The book begins with Arthur, age four, and his older brother, Bobby, age six, playing in an outhouse. Bobby teases Arthur by pretending to fall in, but their older sister, Glenna, stops it. The boys then go to a neighbor's house, abscond with a rabbit, and bring it home. After an argument, the boys return it, having learned an important lesson.

Family and Early Life

Due to the ongoing illness of their mother, Bobby and Arthur are temporarily housed with others. Arthur is unjustly accused of minor theft and is sent to bed without supper, but is rescued by his loving sister, who retrieves the boys and takes them home.

The background of their mother, Helene, and their father, Albert, is presented, much of which takes place in Ruegen, a small, picturesque island in Northern Germany. Albert's relationship with his brother, sister, and parents is examined.

His sister, who lives in Hamburg with her husband, has a friendship with a ship captain on a local shipping line, which results in the captain signing Albert, at 14, onto a square-rigged sailing ship as a cabin boy. Albert sails around the world for 20 years, then returns to Hamburg and marries Helene.

Tragedies and War

In 1930, Albert and Helene's second-born child falls ill with pneumonia, and other tragic events occur. In 1937, Bobby is born, followed by Arthur in 1939, just as Poland is invaded by Germany. The father, unable to keep the boys at home, pays their room and board with good-hearted families.

As the boys mature, the father, whom by now they call 'Pop,' does his best to raise them, but tragic incidents occur, including the death of a drinking buddy at the hands of his wife, leading to courtroom drama. His long-term drinking habits result in the boys becoming 'latch-key' kids.

Migration and New Beginnings

Out of work due to seasonal rains, the father brings the boys south to Sacramento. Meanwhile, Glenna, her husband, and daughter Beverley head north to Alaska on the AlCan and settle in Anchorage, where tragedy eventually visits the family.

Adolescence and Adventures

After arriving in rural West Sacramento, the boys get into additional scrapes and minor issues with the law. Eventually, Bobby, aka Bob, joins the Air Force.

At the age of 16, Arthur is befriended by Big Ed, a good-hearted truck driver and drinking buddy of his father. Known for downing fifty 'fish bowls' of beer in a single sitting, Big Ed influences Arthur.

Arthur, who can now drive trucks for Big Ed, convinces his father to let him drive to Texas over the holidays with Big Ed. In Houston, Texas, Arthur has his first romantic adventure but returns home so late that it impacts his studies.

In the following fall, at age 17, he applies for and is accepted into the Air Force, where the story ends.