It's 1973 in small town Howard, Nebraska. The town is feeling the nation’s turmoil right along with the rest of the country. The year is full of protests, riots, government lies, prejudice, and a seemingly endless war in Southeast Asia. Fourteen-year-old Oscar Browning is trying to make sense of his teen years while dealing with an absent older brother. It seems David’s decision to leave home and join the Viet Nam fighting was a bad one. The Browning family got their last letters from David over a year ago. Oscar finds no help from a father who spends most of his time at Rosie’s Bar and a mother who spends her days scanning television news reports from overseas. Then the teen meets a remnant of a man living alone on the outskirts of town, Charles Barrett.