After accidentally killing his girlfriend, Loyal Blood flees his family farm in Vermont, initiating a decades-long odyssey across the American landscape. As he drifts through various states and occupations, Loyal remains haunted by his crime and severed from his roots, while his family back home struggles to maintain their crumbling homestead. The narrative unfolds through a non-linear structure, utilizing the titular postcards sent by Loyal to his family as a primary vehicle for tracking his physical and psychological displacement. The story examines the tension between the desire for mobility and the inescapable weight of one's past.

This work is widely recognized for its stark, evocative prose and its ambitious scope in capturing the changing face of the American landscape. Critics often highlight the author's ability to weave a sense of profound loneliness into the fabric of the protagonist's long-term flight. The novel is frequently cited for its structural innovation, particularly the way the postcards serve as both a connection to and a barrier from the protagonist's home. Readers and scholars alike appreciate the meticulous attention to regional detail that grounds the story in a tangible, albeit harsh, reality.