assinated, and ten-year-old Tim Stonecash learns that people don't live forever. Tim is the only child of a loving mom and dad, growing up in a small homogenous Midwestern town.

Soon, the divisive, turbulent times of the decade touch Tim: the Vietnam War, civil rights, political assassinations, and the counterculture movement. Conflicted between doing what he knows is right and doing what is fun, easy, and exciting, Tim models both the good and the bad.

He clings to friends of all sorts in his need to belong and in his search for freedom and identity. Tim's reckless and rebellious character takes the reader on a wild ride full of fast cars, confusion, sadness, and uncertainty. His story explores themes of race, freedom, belonging, and family. It demonstrates the power that all people wield in molding young people.

His family travels reveal what a small, insular world he lives in. He becomes rebellious and rejects authority-but is held in check by his strict father. Tim yearns for freedom to seek out new friends and places that have more to offer than his home town. When his father dies, he becomes more than his mom can handle, running away to California and hooking up with a wild group of castoffs from the summer of love.

How far will Tim go in his search, and what risks will he take?