Alistair MacLeod's The Lost Salt Gift of Blood starts in a fishing village 2500 miles away from the narrator’s house. When he gets there, he almost turns back home but he decides to go to the harbor where he meets a boy named John. They start to talk and ultimately decide to fish with each other. John tells the man about the Midwest and things like the schools and weather.
John decides to bring the man back to his house; they both are greeted by John's grandmother. The grandmother cooks a meal for both of them the whole dinner but they were very shy and quiet.
In the evening, they all do karaoke and the man (the narrator) starts to feel uncomfortable and not in the right place. The narrator and the grandfather go down to the docs and play checkers and drink rum while the grandmother knits and John does his homework. When the narrator sees the pictures of Jennifer (his dead wife), he wishes he could take John to his home but he sadly can't.
The next day the narrator decides to go home but misses one thing: John. When he gets home he sees kids yelling daddy he is heartbroken.
Ultimately, The Lost Salt Gift of Blood tells the narrator's story of violence, deceit, lust, the power of family, and characters who have to find themselves.
