Eddie kucera is born two months after the death of his immigrant father, who was killed in the cherry, illinois mine disaster in 1909. when his mother dies of pneumonia when eddie was fourteen, his sisters plan to send him to an orphanage since they have no place for him in their lives. the year is 1924. he decides to run away from his family home in la salle, illinois in search of his only living uncle, mike kucera, who left cherry in 1899 for the gold fields of alaska when he was eighteen. in 1924, however, mike is presently living in oregon as a successful lumberman and has lost all contact with his family back in illinois and knows nothing of eddie's existence. the novel weaves the lives of these two young men into a tapestry of adventures that culminate with the birth of a child on christmas eve, 1929.