Ex-marine and troubadour Norwood Pratt gets involved in a wild journey that takes him in and out of stolen cars, freight trains, and buses. As with all of Portis's fiction (including "True Grit"), the tone is cool, sympathetic, funny, and undeniability American.

Ex-marine and troubadour Norwood Pratt gets involved in a wild journey that takes him in and out of stolen cars, freight trains, and buses. As with all of Portis's fiction (including "True Grit"), the tone is cool, sympathetic, funny, and undeniability American.

Sent on a mission to New York he gets involved in a wild journey that takes him in and out of stolen cars, freight trains, and buses. By the time he returns home to Texas, Norwood has met his true love, Rita Lee, on a bus; befriended the second shortest midget in show business and "the world's smallest perfect fat man"; and helped Joann "the chicken with a college education," realize her true potential in life. As with all Portis' fiction, the tone is cool, sympathetic, and funny.