Born in a dogtrot house about a half mile off the dirt road, Joe is thrust into the teeth of the Great Depression. His southern home in Pickens County is nearly wiped away by economic ruin while Joe's father abandons the family and its five children. But his colorful boyhood is a happy one, marked by mule plows, swinging Muscadine vines, shotgun country stores, and blue clay baths. Joe sets out as an adult seeking to carve out a better life. He travels to different continents, meets almost every brand of people, practices law for over four decades, and eventually returns to farmland. Home, he discovers, feels best wearing overalls.