A seventeen-year-old runaway from West Virginia finds himself entangled in a volatile Boston commune, while his father traverses the city in a desperate search for his son. Hobie McNutt seeks refuge and belonging among young radicals, only to discover that the group's internal power struggles and political extremism pose immediate threats to his safety. Simultaneously, his father, Hunter, navigates the harsh realities of manual labor and urban displacement while attempting to locate his son. The narrative alternates between these two perspectives, highlighting the stark contrast between the idealism of the youth movement and the gritty, blue-collar struggle for survival. The story unfolds as a multi-perspective account, tracking the physical and psychological distance between father and son as they navigate the social upheaval of 1969.

Readers and critics frequently highlight the author's ability to capture the specific atmosphere of late 1960s America with clinical precision. Discussion often centers on the stark contrast between the political fervor of the commune and the pragmatic, survivalist mindset of the father. Many reviewers note that the pacing is deliberate, favoring character development and social commentary over rapid plot progression. The work is often compared to the urban realism of writers like Richard Price, with readers appreciating the lack of sentimentality in the portrayal of both the radicals and the working class. The narrative effectively balances the macro-level political tensions of the era with the micro-level emotional stakes of a family searching for one another.