In the beginning of the book, the protagonist is struggling to find a doctor for her sick child. She is able to convince a passing car to drive her to the doctor’s office and finally reaches the office. The boy ends up recovering after they reach the office despite having been in danger of suffocation earlier in the book.
The author later extensively delineates the life of the protagonist on the mountains and her fulfilling life and the sense of community that exists in that place. She is well versed in the Bible. She dreams to buy the old Tipton place for the family, to ensure that they have a better home and can sustain themselves. However, the impact of war can be seen on their quotidian lives. Gertie’s brother dies in the war and this profoundly affects the family.
After having saved money for years, Gertie ends up realizing her dream and buys the Tipton place. She moves the family into their new home. However, things take a tragic turn and she has to give up the house and leaves for Detroit in the hope of a better life.
They find, however, that life in Detroit is much worse. They face much hardships and ordeals and Gertie begins to question her faith. She also ends up making quite a few friends and slowly starts finding her way in this new, hostile place.
While Gertie does her best to adapt, her oldest boy runs away and her daughter is unable to find her way in this place and is killed. In the end, Gertie is forced to give up her sculpture that she has been working on through the length of the book to sustain her family.
