In this affecting semi-autobiographical novel, the author portrays over three decades in the life of the Mason family as they struggle to survive during the lean years of the early twentieth century. Bo Mason, his wife, Elsa, and their two boys live a transient life of poverty and despair. Drifting from town to town and from state to state, the violent, ruthless Bo seeks out his fortune in the hotel business, in new farmland, and, eventually, in illegal...

This is the story of Sara and Richard Everton, a couple embarked on a journey of renewal. They leave a house and job in San Francisco and travel to the small Mexican village of Ibarra to reopen a copper mine, abandoned in 1910 by Richard's grandfather. They also plan to restore the family home, a crumbling reminder of the past. However, they learn that Richard is dying of leukemia.