A mysterious dark giant and other colorful, unique characters return to life in this frank memoir as an eleven-year old and his makeshift gang awkwardly test the adult world in 1954. A career journalist unveils bittersweet nostalgia of a childhood in the heartland of America, blending action reporting and story telling through naive adventures, tempting explorations and enough mischief to make the reader both grin and cringe during an Iowa town's Centennial year.