Set in the Upper Midwest, 1952-1991, Delicate Armor is the story of several generations of the Lindstrom family. Having no son, Will Lindstrom places his energy in young Callie, a cheeky girl who shares his bond with the outdoors. Inducted into the world of men and privy to their dreams and struggles, Callie learns to navigate waves of family conflict and loss while realizing her own place in the world. Delicate Armor is about lost time, the tenacity of the human spirit, and our narrator's emerging consciousness as she passes from young girl to self-possessed woman, who, along the way, pays tribute to the land and to her microcosm of men.