Abbie Joules, younger sister of Benjamin Joules (Bendigo), recalls a difficult 'coming of age' for both herself and her brother as they live their lives on a hard-scrabble farm in east Texas during the 40's and 50's. Their aunt Sherry, to whom Bendigo is especially fond, succumbs to a deadly disease, and Bendigo is forced to face this mystery of the end of life. Dealing with his own sorrow, he decides to volunteer at the hospital, and from this perspective he learns additional valuable—and hard—lessons. His final encounter at the hospital not only marked a rite of passage, but also the beginning of the end of the Joules family.