Martin's dad, Martin Lucius King, will soon be running for governor of Alabama, at the urging of his own father, who hopes that his scrawny son will someday continue the same. But not only is there a circle of politics, but a circle of abuse and paranoid schizophrenia stretching back to Martin's great-grandfather. So just when Martin gets accepted to the University of Alabama, a white squirrel appears to the youngest Martin to assure him that the working man will prevail and the circle will be broken.