Debut author Jim Black's semiautobiographical tale won rave reviews and favorable comparisons to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. For young Jim, the summer of 1968 sparkles with the promise of baseball and pretty girls. But he must reevaluate his priorities when he befriends Sam, an older African-American who shares his love of fishing. Soon Jim realizes there is more to Sam than he ever imagined, and that life's most valuable lessons are often the most painful.