The year—that's what his mother called 1967 after everything that happened. Junior's pa died on the first day of January, his house was blown away in March, and his baby brother is due in August. His mother must sell what's left of the farm and move to a city to live with family members Junior hardly knows.

What can thirteen-year-old Junior Tuttle do to keep from losing everything, including his dog Buck? Because most of the young men are off fighting in Vietnam, Junior manages to talk cranky old Elvis Crabtree into giving him a job as farmhand. He learns about job insurance from the black housekeeper and risks doing what's right even when it feels wrong and could get him into worse trouble. But is it enough? Will Junior and his mother ever reach the sweet water?