Lee Sword was a poor, but hard-working cotton farmer before the great cotton debacle and the depression wiped out everything he had. His mortgage foreclosed, his mules nd rquipment sold, he is left with little except the courage of his family - his wife, Jimmie, and his two sons, John and Boy. Boy is the younger, searching through the mazes of grinding poverty and accidents of fortune for his identity - symbolized by the Christian name his father has never given him.

Seen through Boy's eyes, the Swords are a family with nothing left but hope - a fierce and defiant hope that is renewed with Roosevelt's election. From the governent, Sword gets two free mules, and a new lease on life. Renting land from Senator Clayton, a wise and kindly man, he starts over in Bugscuffle Bottom, a communal farm project.