This is the story of a drifter named Rainwater. James Rainwater gave up his home and his family, searching for something he can't quite define and convinced he killed his best friend. He is looking for freedom, but he cannot decide whether that is "freedom from" or "freedom to." Now he travels the country, looking for work, a meal, a place to sleep for a night or two, and a reason to move on. The Path of Rainwater is a novel of one man's travels across the country. He goes from back roads in Kentucky to small towns in Virginia and Tennessee to highways in Georgia and South Carolina. The people and places along the way compel him to look at the changes in his world and to evaluate both his views and, more important, his decisions. Ultimately, The Path of Rainwater is as much about the lives of everyday people Rainwater meets as it is about his choices.